All of us, in our childhood, have played outdoor and indoor games. Certainly, with the development of the internet, children today, are now more into video and online games. Though this is a great source of entertainment, a game like “Blue Whale” is death in disguise.
‘A Silent House’, ‘Wake me up at 4 a.m.’ and such are its nicknames. The life threatening game was developed in Russia in 2013. Philipp Budeikin, a former psychology student, who was expelled from his university, claimed that he invented the game.
He said, “There are people – and there is a biological waste.” He also said he wanted to eradicate people who weren’t valuable for the society.
The game caused a moral panic in Russia after a journalist wrote an article about the game. Soon, it spread to the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, India and other such states.
Structure of the game
The game is played in 50 levels. There is a step by step method for proceeding through the game. There would be an administrator who will ask the player to perform some task. As a consequence, without questions, the player has to perform the task. In addition, the player should not inform anybody about his task. Moreover, the player has to take a picture or video of performing the task.
The starting level’s tasks would be easier. However, with the increasing level, the tasks become self-destructive. For example, writing something with a sharp object on one’s arm, drawing a whale with blade or razor. Not only that, but players will also have to wake up at 4:20 a.m., go to the rooftop to listen to some music or see some scary video sent by the administrator.
Self-harming acts like poking the needle into one’s skin is also one of the tasks. The last task, that is, the 50th one, is jumping off from a high building or using some other methods to commit suicide. Many youngsters are the victim of this game.
Quitting
After a stage, the player understands that this is becoming too harmful. Even then, it is impossible to quit. If a player wants to quit, they are warned that their family will be harmed. Hence, they face tremendous terror. This is one of the biggest reasons for mental depression and consequences in the death of the player.
Cases of self-harm or death
1. Rina Palenkova
At the end of 2015, Rina Palenkova, a 17-year-old Russian girl named, Rina Palenkova posted this selfie before jumping in front of an oncoming train. She was immediately killed in the impact. The death was due to the game ‘Blue Whale’. Before dying, she left a message saying”goodbye” on social media.
2. Madhya Pradesh, Indore Teenager
A 13-year-old boy on Thursday tried to end his life by jumping off the third floor of his school in Indore. The teenager did this apparently while playing the infamous online game ‘Blue Whale challenge’. He was saved because fellow students interfered his attempt, police said.
The 13-year-old was a student of Chameli Devi Public School at Rajendra Nagar. When he tried to jump, the other students pulled him up.
Next, the students informed their teachers. This eventually led to the police.
After investigation it was found, he was playing the game “Blue Whale” using his father’s cell phone.
3. Death in Andheri
A teenage boy jumped from his 7th-floor rooftop. He was only in class 9. He had been playing the “Blue Whale”. As he sat on the terrace for 20 minutes before he committed suicide, he chatted with his friends on social media. A person saw him sitting on the parapet and asked him to get down. He told his friends, he is going to commit suicide once the person goes away. Even though no one took him seriously, he proved them wrong. Like several other victims, he had committed suicide.
Though the founder of the game Phillip Buddhekin was arrested, the lives are not going to come back.
It is pathetic to see such conditions of the youth. Thus, this is a warning to us that we should stay away from such dangerous games.
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