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Do you know what some say is worse than a fictional video titled "The Momo's Challenge" that encourages children to hurt themselves or others to hurt themselves? A viral explosion of social media that scares their parents.
Yes, teen suicide continues to hit the United States. But in a country of nearly 326 million people, no child has responded to the "Momo Challenge" by taking pills, stabbing someone or injuring themselves, authorities said the week.
"Please be aware that many trusted sources say
THIS IS A WHIP
"Said Dennis Calo, acting attorney for Bergen County, one of the country's largest law enforcement officers.
"With social media, things can spread quickly. Sometimes the information is correct and other times wrong, "said the prosecutor.
In this case, he said, YouTube itself "does not report any evidence of the recently targeted video on kids, as has been reported on social media, especially young kids on YouTube Kids."
The YouTube Kids app automatically eliminates inappropriate content for kids, so it's impossible, he said.
The whimsical face with black hair and bulging eyes is a work of art entitled "Mother Bird", created by Keisuke Aisawa for the Japanese company special effects Link Factory horror.
This was not aimed at the "Momo Challenge", which encourages participants in the Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging application to perform various tasks or be "cursed". Some indulged in self harm, including suicide.
"Cut your leg and you'll never see me," the voice said on the video. "Cut your wrists and your parents will never see me."
There are other Momo videos on YouTube (from Japan, Mexico and Colombia) that have also scared parents that their kids have ideas.
Which, of course, means that viral warnings continue to multiply, generating exactly the type of panic desired by the creator.
We have already come here.
Who remembers the claims that backed-up Beatles records – and, at the same time, damaging decks – have revealed satanic messages?
Or that these heavy metal songs incite children to kill each other?
A year ago, rumors circulated that the "Momo Challenge" had convinced a 12-year-old Argentinian girl to hang herself. Local authorities, however, claimed to believe that another teenager she had met online was responsible.
Momo links have been established in reports of other suicides that initially appeared to be direct but later found to be tangent or entirely unfounded.
Finally, the concern is blurred.
Now he is back.
Some police services in the country have been fooled to share the latest warnings on social media. Local educators have even become involved this week.
"We received a letter from the school [Friday] because 'all the children' were talking about it and they do not want to talk about it all at school, "wrote a mother from Bergen County. "They all talked about it because all their parents came to talk to them
"It was a final situation" Catch-22 "."
"It's a classic hoax in the era of false news, when people do not know what's real and what's not real," said another mother. "And the reason she spread so quickly is because of the guilt that many mothers feel about the time spent in front of a private screen [that their kids have].
"This only reinforces the idea that bad mothers allow kids to watch videos."
Final sources that have demystified Momo include
Snopes.com
, a reputable site for investigating social media rumors and for sorting the (rarely) authentic (mostly) fake.
"Many so-called" challenges "of this variety have proved to be much more the product of feverish fantasies and sneaky reporting than real phenomena",
Snopes founder David Mikkelson said earlier this week
.
Suicide rarely has a singular cause,
Dawn Branley Bell, cyberpsychology expert, told Yahoo News
.
"Those who are vulnerable to this type of content are likely to have other reasons behind this vulnerability," she said.
"I think we would devote more time and effort to focusing on the reasons for the initial psychological vulnerability – that it is a question of low self-esteem, mental health or environmental issues – rather than online content, "added Bell.
"Suddenly, if I talk about that, I'll put the idea in their head,"
Devon Corpus, a clinical social worker, told KION News
. "That's not how it works."
Some experts ironically explain that the fact that adults are spreading so quickly the fear of traditional media and social media – desperate to ensure the safety of their children – is what inspired the scary figure.
If we took it for what it was really worth, Momo "would have fallen into obscurity on his own" instead of "gaining ground",
RelevantMagazine.com
reports.
"All these challenges and trends follow the same formula,"
Taylor Lorenz wrote in the Atlantic
. "A local news channel is outbidding a dangerous teenage trend. Concerned parents flock to social media to get the message across. The real teenagers and all those who live their life extremely online make fun of their naivety.
"Brands and influencers follow the trend, parody and exploit it to their advantage, and trolls take advantage of those who believe it's real, often by creating and posting content that apparently confirms parents' worst fears. . "
This is no different from warnings that kids eat Tide pods, use "bath salts" or play "playoff": one, two or even three isolated incidents are suddenly a trend.
If you are really worried, say the experts, speak with your children with respect. Tell them that you trust them to inform you of what is going on there. Then concentrate on real problems such as cyberbullying, inappropriate sexual content and extreme violence.
"Vigilance requires wisdom and can sort out the real threats of paranoia,"
RelaventMagazine.com wrote
.
"It makes sense that parents want to protect their children"
The reports from the Atlantic says
. "But" Momo "is not what they need protection."
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