How not to crack for viral alerts like Momo

Who knows what kids do online, right? They have their TikToks, Snapchats and flop Instagram accounts, while parents still post on Facebook and Twitter. The mismatch between the use of the Internet by the elderly and their children leads to the anxiety of the parents and, in the case of this week's resurgence, the fake Momo viral challenge, the panic and the misinformation.

According to breathtaking reports and publications by concerned parents and law enforcement, the Momo Challenge is a social media game that encourages children to engage in increasingly dangerous behavior. until they end up committing suicide and downloading the video. l & # 39; Internet.

Momo is basically the nightmare of all parents. But as many outlets have pointed out, there is nothing to indicate that this is a real viral challenge. The certainly bizarre image of "Momo" is based on a sculpture by a Japanese artist. While suicides related to the challenge began to surface last year, according to Snopes, authorities have never definitively linked a case to participation in an online game. YouTube (which hosted Momo videos) released a statement Wednesday stating that it had not encountered any Momo videos on the site. The "extremely online" teenagers who read their parents' warnings about Momo reacted with, well, rolls eyes.

Momo seems to be another example not of a dangerous viral behavior, but of a viral hoax. This is what Anne Collier calls a "viral fright of the media". These are the myths of the "razor blade in Halloween candy". And just as this pernicious worry has spread to the offline era, Momo and his ilk are being stimulated along the way not only by worried parents who are trying to warn others, but also by the media that captured and amplified them.

The result, say the experts, is that if Momo's fright was not real at first, the attention she receives may actually have the opposite effect of what was expected: all of these warnings may increase the risk that teenagers or young children become familiar with the challenge. and take it seriously – or at least be scared by the scary image of Momo herself.

Trying to help Hurts

If you see a warning on social media about a dangerous viral challenge, like the tweet it seems to have revived interest in Momo this week, take a breath. Pause. Before you click on retweet or share, ask yourself two things. "Do I know who this behavior will benefit? And what information do I miss? "If you can not respond to what you do not know, and if you can not say who will benefit from your action, pause," says Whitney Phillips, professor of media education. at the University of Syracuse.

Hoaxes like this one are created by people with a diary. And this agenda is viral and panic. By the time you share, you play in their hands.

Playing in their hands is not only bad because it gives bad people what they want. By sharing information, you also risk hurting the children you hope to help. "The immediate risk is that more people are exposed to the hoax, some of them perhaps trying to adopt the behaviors," Phillips said. Virality itself can be a vector of harm. In addition, some bad actors might try to capitalize on Momo's virality and use it as a weapon to target vulnerable children. basically, copy on what the hoax claims to be and then try to push the kids to hurt themselves.

Not only are parents vulnerable to the accidental spread of hoaxes in order to help children. A WIRED employee stated that their child's school had sent a warning about Momo this week, and Taylor Lorenz to L & # 39; Atlantic note that even law enforcement can be used, preferring to make a warning rather than ignore it. As a parent myself, I understand that it's hard to ignore an alert about something that could hurt your kids.

Hoaxes play on our reptilian brains

As parents, it is our duty to protect our children. And the Internet, with all its nooks and fast moving parts, is a particularly difficult minefield for children. Chantal Pontvin, a mother I interviewed earlier this month about social media and children, says, "My friends are very scared of social media, their children and this kind of thing. that they could do. They have no online interaction with their children. They have no idea, "she said.

Add to this opacity stories like this week's about cartoons on YouTube that are assembled with instructions on how to kill themselves: videos that to have confirmed – and enough to encourage some parents to raise their children in the woods without access to the Internet. This certainly gives the impression that something like the Momo Challenge, the Tide Pod Challenge or the Blue Whale Game, or any of the other viral hoaxes, could very well be the reality. The world is a crazy place!

"All convincing hoaxes have a core of truth," says Monica Bulger, senior researcher at the Forum on the Future of Privacy, which studies children's rights and media literacy. "And they play in our reptilian minds." By that, it does not just mean that they are part of our biggest fears, but that they sound quite similar to other stories we've heard that our brain, which works in great ways part on autopilot, interprets them as being true. It's the effect of illusory truth – a problem in human reasoning that gives the impression that things that are familiar are true. That's why sometimes even checking a lie by checking the facts may eventually lead to more people believing it, because it increases the exposure to lying.

The creators of viral hoaxes know it. "Many meme creators are very good at playing with fears and prejudices. Parents generally fear, and the priority is the safety of children, "says Bulger. "Parents need to remember that just because something feels good is not good. In reality, you can not trust your instinct. The best way to protect yourself from this cognitive problem is simply to be aware of it.

So what should you do next time you will encounter a serious warning on the internet, especially if it is something that has not been debunked? Dramatic stories about online kids' behavior can be like other types of high-profile incidents that could lead to misinformation, and experts have some suggestions on how to deal with them.

Break, but then what?

Bulger says that after a pause, wait. Wait a few days. Wait before talking to your children. Wait to see if your school or law enforcement agencies are actually warning you. And if you have one, as my colleague did, do you ask if that includes corroboration? School districts and police services are authorities, but enough of them have been equally vulnerable to these panics. Do people report that children actually encountered this or hurt themselves? If the answer is yes, talk to your child. If they raise it, react with understanding, do not panic.

There is a good reason not to immediately discuss with your child all the viral memes or challenges you hear about. You could traumatize them, Bulger says. She notes that parents who warn children against panic and constantly warn them what they see online are a bit like school-based active shooting exercises, as long as they can cause themselves damage. "What is causing more harm to the initial meme or panic?" She asks.

What is clear is that like the shooter exercises, the warnings about the Momos of the Internet are a response to a real problem. The Internet is actually a dangerous and difficult place to understand. He is full of creeps, brutes, conspiracy theorists and extremists. And although hoaxes and memes are usually harmless, they are not always safe. Take Pizzagate, who shot someone, and SlenderMan, who inspired two pre-teens to try to kill their classmate. "Part of what makes our contemporary moment so scary is that nothing makes sense," Phillips said. It is difficult to distinguish the truth from the fiction, the same from the contagious suicide pact.

What you can do to help your children navigate this crazy world is to encourage open dialogue on social media and the Internet. This will make them resilient and more likely to see something like Momo and not be a victim. Do not answer, Bulger says, react by trying to control everything your kids see online. After a certain age, at least they will come into contact with the Internet, whether you like it or not.

"So, be a safe place for your child to talk to you. It should not be this constant bombardment of questions about these hoaxes. Have you seen this Momo thing? Integrate the Internet and the media with the daily rhythms of the family, "said Bulger. She wants you to let your kids know, "We're all online, we're all understanding that and we're a safe place to talk about everything you see."

And most importantly, do not panic.

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