Blue Whale Game

The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed concern over children allegedly committing suicide while playing the Blue Whale Challenge, an internet suicide game, that has been allegedly linked to the deaths of several children worldwide.

Families of two boys in Kerala claimed that they committed suicide because of the game. The government has directed technology giants, including Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Yahoo to remove all links which direct users to the dangerous online game "The Blue Whale Challenge"
The Blue Whale suicide game is believed to be a social media group which is encouraging people to kill themselves.

It’s thought a group administrator assigns daily tasks to members, which they have to complete over 50 days. The horrific tasks include self-harming, watching horror movies and waking up at unusual hours, but these gradually get more extreme, according to theSun.co.uk.

The Blue Whale Challenge hit headlines after it was linked to the death of 130 teenagers in Russia. Various media reports suggested the game began in Russia before spreading to Eastern Europe and two ‘masterminds’ behind the evil game have now been arrested.

There are concerns that some young people are abusing the fear around the challenge to encourage others to self-harm and carry out various dares and post the results online under the guise of The Blue Whale challenge. What can you do to protect children? Tips for Parents: Ask your child what they are doing online. It’s important you understand what websites, apps, and social media platforms they are on; Check their privacy settings; Make sure they know how to make their profiles ‘private’ so they are not sharing personal information with strangers.

For example, Facebook has a Privacy Health check feature; Make sure they know when and how to report and block any malicious or inappropriate messages or posts; Be careful about over-sharing personal information such as your school, telephone number or anything that identifies where you might live.

Consider not using your full name for your profile; Use the ‘t-shirt test’ when it comes to sharing images online or sending pictures or videos to friends: Would you wear it on your T-shirt? If not, then don’t send it; Parents need to keep talking to the kids. Take interest in your child's activities. Give them space to share their feelings without negating them.