Hello everyone! I hope all is well with you and that you all had a Happy Mother’s Day. I’m back today and I’m talking about something called the Blue Whale Suicide Game. Have you heard of it?
Photo credit: Benjamin Lehman via Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND
No?
Well let me fill you in. It is a game that encourages teens to commit suicide. It’s name is derived from the fact Blue Whales sometimes beach themselves to die.
According to this article, http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/blue-whale-challenge
at least one hundred and thirty Russian teen suicides have been linked to this game. This is how it works. An administrator assigns tasks to the teens who sign up to play. The tasks range from waking up at an odd time, watching a horror movie, to self-harm. The teen has fifty days to complete the tasks and they have to post proof for the administrator to validate. At the end of the fifty days, they’re encouraged to commit suicide.
The game is now spreading across the UK via social media. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/806384/Blue-Whale-Game-Suicide-Challenge-UK
Photo via VisualHunt.com
Now, it hasn’t been proven beyond a reasonable doubt the Blue Whale game is responsible for those one hundred and thirty suicides, but those teens were all part of the same group. Besides, do we need to prove it? Isn’t the fact that the game exists at all a major red flag for anyone?
I hate to say this because I’m not one for a great deal of regulation, but apparently we need some sort of guidelines for the internet. First of all, this game shouldn’t even exist. It needs to be removed from the web. We need some sort of committee to regulate apps so kids can’t access these games.
Of course, creating a regulating body takes time. So what do we do in the meantime? We must warn our kids against this game. Tell them in no uncertain terms not to play. Even if all their friends are doing it. Give them the tools they need to deal with peer pressure because that is how the Blue Whale hooks these kids. Here’s a great article on dealing with peer pressure. http://www.yourlifecounts.org/blog/20-ways-avoid-peer-pressure
The man behind this game claims he’s cleansing society. Isn’t this kind of thinking considered a mental illness? If it’s not, it should be. This guy reminds me of Hitler and we all know where his thinking got us, don’t we?
Photo credit: ksablan via VisualHunt.com / CC BY-SA
Thanks for stopping by and reading my post! Do you have any ideas on how to stop this insidious game? Please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you!
I have already educated my son about this and the reasons not to get involved… its disgusting and horrifying!
I agree! And kudos to you for educating your son!
Thanks hun!
You’re welcome!
I agree that we need some regulation of the internet. If the Blue Whale game/website exists, I don’t understand why some law enforcement hasn’t infiltrated the group, gotten proof and shut them down.
I hear you, Phil. I’m guessing it’s because the administrators are hiding behind the internet and they’re hard to find. I hope law enforcement does shut them down.
A very dangerous game with heartbreaking results. It is incomprehensible to me why anyone would develop something like this.
I know, Bernadette. It makes me sick. I want to get the word out about this so we can stop kids from getting hooked into the game. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
God this is terrifying. Thanks for alerting us to it.
You’re welcome. It is terrifying.
This is horrible and one of the worst things Social Media has done to us. It has made us insensitive and immune to reality.
I agree, Parul. It is a major problem that we need to address. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
I’d heard of this too, but didn’t know so much of the detail. Pretty scary stuff to be honest.
I think so, too. I wish this game didn’t even exist.
There are several corollaries to this horrible “game.” The psychology behind it would be fascinating to pursue (what would motivate someone to participate? I see you mentioned “cleansing society” as one admins motivation for hosting this kind of criminal behavior, but I wonder what the real motivation is…)
While I stand with you that this kind of activity needs to be curtailed, it was a fascinating post and raises a lot of questions that are worth pursuing.
I agree, Gabe. It raises a lot of questions. Questions I’d like answers to, but there’s no way to find out those answers because we don’t know who the creators are and what made them come up with such a sick game. Maybe we’ll find out some day when they’re caught and they have to answer for their actions.
I forgot to add, thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Thanks for sharing the news about this disastrous game. Hopefully, someone will pull the plug on it soon.
Definitely. My fingers are crossed. Thanks for stopping by.
Oh my! This sounds terrible. I hadn’t heard of it before. The creator sounds monstrous!
I agree, Christy! We need to get rid of these types of games. I don’t believe for a second this is the only one out there. Thanks for stopping by! It’s always good to hear from you! 🙂
Lisa, I read about this online. It’s really bloody scary!
It is! I mentioned it to my kids and told them not to play and if their friends were playing they need to tell me ASAP so I can contact their parents. They said they would. I don’t like to tell on my kids’s friends, but in this instant I don’t have a choice. 😦
No, it has to be done Lisa in this case. Being honest and open is the best way with things like this
You are so right. I’m so thankful I stayed home with my kidlets and developed a good relationship with both of them. 🙂 I think all the sacrifices will pay off in the long run. 🙂
Our world has gone mad. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the day.
You’re welcome! Anything to help those kids out there! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Hello ma’am…thank you for writing on this topic…its very upsetting that people who are making such kind of games are affecting society in the destructive manner …whats happen to constructive part of humans…we need to work on looking for good people around who can contribute to the society in the right manner and make this world safer place to live…
I agree. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂