Islamabad : The Blue Whale Challenge, a dangerous internet ‘game’ reportedly linked to an increase in teenage suicides across the globe, has started gaining an alarming momentum in South Asia.
It has recently starting claiming victims in Pakistan, where
Five cases of self-harm have been reported in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last week according these cases one girl and four boys between the ages of 15 to 21, have been victim.
The title of the game is believed to be a reference to an act carried out by some blue whales who appears to harm themselves to die.
It is allegedly controlled by an anonymous online pressure group and the games ‘curators’ assign players a daily task for a period of 50 days.
The only way to win the game is to commit suicide.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the Cyber Crime Control Wing of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) should adopt a more holistic approach to counter these threats such as promoting self regulation and issuing warnings to families and schools.
Parents, guardians, and teachers need to play a greater role in educating children on responsible browsing patterns for staying safe online.
It is vital to mention here that the game first appeared on Vkontakte, a Russian social network where blue whale hashtags were traced to ‘tens of thousands of bots’.
It was created in 2013 in Russia by a 21 year old psychology student, Philip Budekin.
The exact nature and presence of the game on the internet is difficult to ascertain or trace because it exists on the dark web.
