Current Event I.

Introduction
The game called "Blue Whale" has been discussed in the media all over the world. Even though the reports are not confirmed, there is a possible link between teenager suicides and this social media challenge. The purpose of this game is completing series of tasks in a 50 day period. Those tasks are dangerous, self-harming and eventually result in making the player kill himself.

The origin of the game
It is actually believed, that the name is referencing to an act of blue whales, in which they purposely kill themselves nearby the shore. The Blue Whale is understood to be an online pressure group, with the curator assigning players tasks from watching a horror movie to jumping off the building.

Reports
First mentioned reports came from Russia. To be concrete, a ten-year old girl was found wounded after trying to commit suicide in the city of St. Petersburg. Similar case was a suicide of two Russian girls from Siberia (Julia Konstantinova, Veronika Volkova) who jumped off the 14 floor builing. Julia shared a post saying: "the end" and added a photo of a blue whale.
This suicidal attempt and many others are thought to be linked to the internet game according to various "hashtags" and messages found online. Even though there has not been any real poof found, parents and doctors are worried about the consequences of these groups and games on the internet. Teenagers who suffer psychological problems may be easily influenced and vulnerable, when exposed to these challenges. 

This topic is actually very controversial, because some media exaggerate the consequences of this game and some ridicule it. However the governments and experts point out that solely in Russia there were 720 teenager suicides in the year of 2016 and it is important to take any possible factors very seriously. The game Blue Whale may not be the only reason why teenagers kill themselves, but it can be a certain impulse.










Sources:
Fajnor, J. (2017). Vzbud me v 4:20, Rusko bojuje sebevrazdami mladych, i kvuli internetove hre. Lidovky.cz.
Retrieved from: http://www.lidovky.cz/vzbud-me-v-4-20-rusko-bojuje-proti-sebevrazdam-mladych-i-kvuli-internetove-hre-1vv-/zpravy-svet.aspx?c=A170223_173557_ln_zahranici_fas
Blue Whale: Should you be worried about online pressure groups? (2017). BBC News.
Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-39729819?CMP=share_btn_me

Divky zemrely kvuli internetove hre, "Modra Velryba" (2017). Tn.cz.
Retrieved from: http://tn.nova.cz/clanek/divky-zemrely-kvuli-internetove-hre-modra-velryba-se-rychle-siri.html

Comments

  1. Jan UjcikMay 6, 2017 at 2:41 AM

    I really appreciate that you came up with this alarming example of the dark side of the social media. Despite your perfect description of this current event, I still do not understand the purpose why children do play this "game", but I think I never will. In the end, I personaly think that we should mainly blame the parents, because not noticing that your child is acting strange, cuts itself and wakes up in the middle of the night, watching scary videos for 50 days is inexcusable.
    Thank you for sharing such examples on you blog, I have found them highly interesting! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMay 8, 2017 at 2:19 PM

    Great blog! Coherrent and on point. I enjoyed my time reading it :) This example is however striking! I had no idea that anything like Blue Whale was happening. Thank you for educating me further.

    ReplyDelete

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