Why children are ready to kill themselves for Blue Whale challenge
As an extreme, it could be a code for a drug. But that, perhaps, is lame compared to the ubiquitous effect these two words "Blue Whale" are having, suddenly and explosively, in India. At least three teenagers have reportedly killed themselves playing this online game, the unverified number could be more and a couple have been rescued, just in time.
For those of us still thinking that "truth and dare" was the most exciting game we ever played, this is a harsh reality check.
The "Blue Whale" challenge isn't new to the world. There have been more than 100 casualties in Russia where the game is believed to have originated a few years ago. But it is, perhaps, a reflection of the dangerous times the game has a ready audience willing not just to self-destruct but also to kill themselves. Why is a generation becoming an online recluse, readily embracing strangers and getting sucked into a world from where they may or may not escape? We can no longer afford to be mere bystanders.
It cannot just be the sadist thrill of the game unless physical pain gives a few a different high. At every stage of "Blue Whale", the participant is flirting with not just unknown danger but also bodily harm. Cuts on their bodies from a broken piece of glass, initials carved on their arms and chests with a compass, this is destruction that is also calling out for help.
An introvert or a perennial under achiever has no place in society today, the peer pressure and our education system have ensured that there is no place for mediocrity.
Now imagine what this does to the esteem of an insecure boy who easily wins a few rounds of challenges because that's how it begins. Lulling a participant with a false sense of ease, till they are so deeply entrenched in a web and these are not just some rich, idle boys in big cities. Solapur and Indore are towns that don't often make it to the headlines and while the government may have been quick to take action, the reality is that in the murky world of online lives, it is only a matter of time before the next one hits us hard.
And not too far away in the UAE, it already has.
The game "Mariam" was created in July this year and revolves around a child lost in the forest. The players have to help her find her way back home. The scary audio and visual effects are not so much of a concern as the personal information that the players divulge, including where they live while they help the girl find her way.
Apparently, the game has access to a number of apps and folders from the participant's smartphone and can even retrieve photos from the photo albums of those playing it. Users are frighteningly exposed to all sorts of strangers. The Dubai police has alerted parents about the dangers of this game.
In fact, last year, there was a warning that online games were being used by Daesh, as ISIS is called in the Middle East, to lure children. A game called "AL Badayer", named after an area in Sharjah was believed to have coded messages for children to tempt them to join the terror outfit. The country has repeatedly warned that online games are being used to radicalise the youth.
It is not just online gaming, we also need to monitor what our child is watching. Sometimes I feel it is easier for us to let them watch the nonsensical Bollywood movies! The Netflix series "13 reasons why" is about a teenager's suicide and depicts it rather elaborately.
The controversial drama has been accused of glorifying suicide and two families in California say their daughters killed themselves in April after watching it. The adolescent's world was never this hard and tricky.
But the police or the government can only do so much. Gone are the days when we would clutch our hands in nostalgia and reminisce about how we rolled in the mud and cycled in the sun while growing up.
This generation is, in itself, a challenge. Schools are switching to teaching on tablets and homework more often than not requires a project to be e-mailed. The lesson is now for us: if we, as parents, don't adapt and become alert we are in danger of losing our children. It takes minutes to brainwash an innocent, vulnerable mind.
"We grew up just fine on our own while our parents were working" is no longer relevant. We didn't have the kind of temptations that our kids have today. The toys have changed and it's no longer a child's play.
How did the parents of the victims not notice something was amiss through the 50 days?
How did they not take the self-inflicted damage seriously? There are still warning signs, a helpline for depression has reportedly been inundated with emails from young people asking how they can join the Blue Whale challenge. The game it seems has only just begun.
Depression, anxiety and hormones are all real issues, the psychological taboos are fast becoming a part of our mainstream society. When 99 per cent becomes the average cut-off for college admissions, it is time to re-look at our priorities.
Families need to step up and support, but are we willing to? Despite constant reminders of the real threat of paedophilia, Facebook timelines are full of little children prancing around in cute poses. If we would only spend that much time counselling our children, it would be a different story. Smartphones are no substitute for parenting.
Philipp Budeikin, who created the Blue Whale game, reportedly said he wanted to cleanse the society as those who participated in this game were a biological waste. There are many more dysfunctional junkies like him out there, in the seamless virtual expanse waiting to prey on the vulnerable.
The only way to counter it is to first set our own house in order.