There's an underlying message here about a more serious responsibility we have to work on as parents.
The series of news and panicky mom forum posts that unfolded this past few weeks about this suicide game that has been haunting the internet has been particularly difficult for an anxious first-time-mother like me to process. This matter has left me anxious and sleepless for days now. I could never take this matter lightly. Even writing this article down kept sending chills down my spine, but I think we can all agree that as mothers, we need to keep our eyes open and traverse even the most emotionally difficult topics like this to keep our children safe. I'm getting to my main point, stay with me.
Our children are being trapped to harm and even kill themselves.
I first learned about it in one of the mom forums/groups I follow on Facebook. The Momo Challenge is a form of online coercion that specifically targets kids and entices them to do acts of self-harm and even commit suicide.
The Momo challenge begins with a shadowy controller sending violent images to a child over WhatsApp or online games. They threaten the youngster if they refuse to follow 'orders'. There are claims some of these threats include the player being “killed in their sleep” and their family coming to harm. The child is sent instructions on how to harm themselves and others - and some have even been told to kill themselves. The challenge may appear midway through a video or game. -Mirror UK
Apparently, there are various forms of online coercion like this circulating the internet, but the Momo Challenge is particularly easy to identify due to its now viral, utterly terrifying icon - that of a pale, skinny woman, with bulging eyes, and creepy grin that you can check out here. The message to hurt themselves sometimes appear in the middle of what will seem to be an innocent YouTube video for kids. Some moms are reporting to have discovered the dangerous messages mid-way through a video, which is supposedly when guardians have left the kids watching on their own. A lot of moms report seeing this even on YouTube Kids, which is supposed to be a safer, more child-friendly version of the streaming app. Most reports from news agencies like Mirror and BBC say that the Momo Challenge mostly happens on WhatsApp where kids are usually asked to contact certain user "Momo" to start the challenge. But as it appears, the message of self-harm and suicide are also being uploaded on YouTube and YouTube Kids as part of deceptively innocent videos about games and cartoons. Some videos don't feature the actual Momo Challenge but similarly harmful instructions. Here's a step-by-step recount of a fellow momma's experience shared in a Facebook mom group:
Mom watches a video on YouTube Kids with her daughter
For the first few minutes, everything's okay and normal and mom decides to do chores around the house.
A few more minutes in, as the kid watches alone on the tablet, the mom notices a strange reaction on the child's face so she hurriedly goes back to check what the child is seeing.
To her disbelief, instead of an innocent video game clip, there was a grown man acting out how to effectively cut one's own wrist to either "seek attention" or "ultimately end life."
The mom who posted this on the said group was frantically urging all other moms to uninstall the app. This is not the only incident posted on that group and all the other moms who've experience the same thing were desperate for clarity and ways on how they could protect their children. Some of the reports cited other vile commands like turning the stove on overnight, overdosing on certain kinds of pill, or blatantly putting a knife against one's throat. I personally wouldn't know what to do if I chanced upon my own baby watching this stupid challenge by accident. I am also desperate for clarity and assurance.
YouTube can only do so much.
It is understandable for us moms to be in a default panic-stricken state, frantically trying to uninstall these apps and pressure the company to put the videos down right away. A lot of moms already reported, and while it's taking quite a bit for the company to take down all the reported videos and channels, its customer service appears to persistently reassure concerned parents that they are working on a more stringent filtering system that should allow them to put down non-compliant videos more quickly. When that's gonna happen, we don't know. We can just hope they understand the gravity of the situation and act on it soon. We can get frustrated at this company all we want but that doesn't change the reality that the obligation to be as present and mindful in our children's habits is on our shoulders as parents alone. YouTube, like any other streaming app, is a huge help to us parents, but it is ultimately our job to interfere as much as we need to whenever a danger like this poses itself—no matter how difficult that sounds. Don't get me wrong my dear mommas, I am equally mad that these things are now around us and I feel just as helpless. Companies like YouTube should care about the kids and it should be at the core of their CSR mission statement to care about the welfare of the future generation, but the immediate safety and well being of our children are ours to take care of. Instead of waiting for these companies' action plans, perhaps we can re-evaluate our own habits and think of healthier and safer practices to do with our kids so they don't always have to resort to digital entertainment. I am guilty of this and I have serious homework to do.
The times are changing.
Whenever things like this happen, I can't help but compare the current situation to my own childhood. We didn't have this problem back when I was a kid. I think the closest thing we had to this was my dad's fear that I will discover where he keeps his dirty magazines. But apart from that, my parents never had to worry that I will stumble upon a material anywhere teaching me to harm myself or others. The world is evolving right in front of our eyes and our habits and practices are becoming more and more digital by the minute. Kids nowadays are contented watching on their own with a smartphone or tablet. Back in my time, a fun day means we had to scramble out of our houses to play on grass, mud, or sand. Kids nowadays care so much about how they appear on social media and whether they're keeping up with their peers on what's the latest video, music, or hype around. I am not saying we should enforce traditional habits, but I guess it's necessary to really look into this digital transition more closely and find that healthy balance between virtual and real-life play. I think it is also imperative for us parents to realize that while technology sure makes our lives easier, it entails more responsibility from its users. That could mean we should exert more effort being present as our kids become more digitally engaged.
I still have a lot of questions in my head writing this down, and I doubt I will sleep soundly tonight. I am also seriously considering going into a more substantial research about this presumed social media-suicide rate correlation just to get more concrete answers out. But I mean, we all know where all this scrambling for answers is coming from. Being scared is like second nature to us mothers. Like all of you, I'm just desperate for sure ways on how I can keep my son safe from all this. But from the looks of it, shielding our children from these types of content may not be a realistic way to go. Instead, we could perhaps ensure that regardless if they see these vile messages or not, they'll have enough respect for their own lives and bodies and enough trust on us parents to seek our guidance and refuge. I know there's no one way of doing this. Let me know in the comments what you think or if you have tips on how we can deal with this together ♡
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