By now you must have read the stories on social media about the MOMO challenge and you will have definitely seen the creepy photo (which I’m not going to share as i myself find it quite scary and don’t want to keep of seeing it). Lots of big, national newspapers are reporting on it and there is lots of talk about it on the school playground.
Its Hoax !
There’s also lots of articles out there saying how it is a hoax.
It maybe a hoax, but by the very nature of it going viral, and the goverment taking appropriate action, schools; parents and the like, have taken precautions…children are now also talking about it at school, which is worrying, as they will naturally be frightening one another with the information they have seen/heard, or gathered.
The NSPCC has said there is no evidence that the “suicide game” Momo challenge is a risk to children, despite widespread public alarm.
What is it ?
You Tube Kids, is a very popular platform for young children to watch video clips and television programmes. There are overwhelming reports which are detailing multiple seriously disturbing and harmful examples of children being exposed to traumatic clips. These clips are embedded inside normal videos, parents might not be suspicious as they occur in some instances mid clip and are subjecting children to graphic information about the following subjects:
Suicide and how to cut yourself to inflict fatal wounds.
Threats that your parents will die if you tell anyone.
Various types of self-harm.
Dangerous challenges (including making threats to others) with awful consequences if you do not comply.
Very creepy looking faces called Momo.
Children being eaten in their beds by a scary creatures.
Parents are being warned by the media that Momo and other similar hackers could be the next “blue whale” a cruel and dangerous social media game linked to at least 130 deaths across Russia.
What we can do
It is crucial that all parents are involved with their children’s online lives and the dangers that they can be exposed to. These new graphic horror clips are deemed “very accessible” to children or parents who are innocently exposing themselves to the clips which are almost impossible to forget due to the graphic and disturbing nature.
Please ensure that you are fully aware of everything your children are exposed to online.
I think that the real issue is that us as parents must know what our children are doing online! We must keep them safe and monitior their online activity regularly.
For more information about internet safety for children, I found the website National Online Safety very helpful. There are guides for all social media platforms and age restrictions if you’re unclear.