Ever heard of this new game making the rounds online? If you did, you should be aware by now of what's happening: more teens are committing suicide because of it.
While no one knows exactly where it came from and who created it, "Blue Whale" is allegedly a "suicide" game that goes on for 50 days. According to The Sun, in the guise of a social media group, its members are said to be given daily tasks by the group administrator. At first, simple tasks like watching horror movies will be given; but as time goes by, it will require one to do moderate to extreme self-harm tasks until the 50th day - wherein the final instruction will be provided: to win the game, the player should carve out a blue whale on his/her wrists or legs as the ultimate act of committing suicide is done.
Further detailed on the same publication, at least 130 suicide deaths in Russia were already linked to this "sinister" game - with one teen even posting a blue whale image with a caption that says "End" on her social media account. But that's not the worst part of it: the act itself has somehow become a trend nowadays all over social media. According to The Huffington Post, there were three notable suicide deaths that occurred between May 2016 and January of this year: (1) a French teenager jumping in front of a train while live streaming on Periscope; (2) a 12-year-old live streaming on Live.Me; (3) and the most recent one, a 14-year-old live streaming on Facebook.
It's sad to think that young people choose to end their lives, despite having a bright future ahead. Most of all, it's sad to think that social media and other kinds of media out there are becoming great factors for such act - instead of cheering them to stand back up, helping them overcome their fears, and leading them to the right direction.
