Reese Barcelon
The digital advancement of technology has made a lot of difference not only in the environment and culture, but also to the people as well. Although it has more advantages rather than the downsides, everyone can still agree to the fact that it is helpful at some point.
The internet had provided a lot of jobs for millions of people around the globe, which explains why more and more users are getting fond of spending their time surfing the net.
However, it can sometimes be surprising how a single post can influence a huge number of netizens be it a good or a bad one. A great number of youths spend their time scrolling through their phones and other gadgets; although it may look harmless to parents this issue is not something that should be ignored.
Just recently, a new online game named Blue Whale has been the talk of the town due to what it does to the youth. It was named after the sea animal which swims up to the coastline whenever they sense that they are dying – as if they are running over to the arms of death willingly.
Apparently, underage netizens are invited to play a game from an anonymous administrator referred to as “Master”. The condition is, if they agree to play, they can’t stop until the game reaches the end. While if they choose to stop while in the middle of the game, they are threatened that their information will be exposed and that their families would also be put in danger.
Teens have to perform given tasks for fifty days, and for them to be hailed as the winner, the player should go through the last one which is to commit suicide.
Some of the assignments which are considered easy are walking up in the middle of a night, watching a horror movie, which will go further until the player is instructed to harm themselves – commonly carving the outline of a whale in their skin. Each player is also told to take a photo to prove that they had done the task.
According to reports, the game had rooted from Russia and is now spreading to other countries as almost 130 teenage deaths have been reported to be linked with the Blue Whale challenge.
As a matter of fact, a teenage girl named Yulia Konstantinova – aged 15, who posted a picture of a blue whale on her social media account before jumping off to her death.
Due to the disturbing outcome of the game, the authorities are giving warning to parents to never let their kids stay on the internet too long to avoid the chances of them stumbling upon the game. As much as possible, it is advised to monitor what youngsters check out on the internet and encourage them to have more face-to-face communication rather than facing their gadgets.
Internet has a lot more secrets that might be harmful not only to the youth, but also to the adults. Always be vigilant and never expose private information in any social media platform.
