There’s a new challenge that’s going around social media, and parents aren’t thrilled.
The Momo Challenge, as it’s called, is an internet challenge that apparently terrorizes children and encourages them to harm themselves or other people. In some extreme cases, the challenge also encourages children to take their own lives. It features a creepy image of a girl named “Momo,” which shows a supposedly human girl with extremely disturbing disfigured facial features.
The challenge was first seen on Facebook last year as a cyberbullying suicide challenge. Participants were told to contact a strange number on WhatsApp, which then sends instructions to children about what they have to do. Children playing the game are given dares to perform, which get more and more dangerous, until it leads the children to harm or death. If they refuse to participate, however, children are apparently blackmailed or threatened until they finally give in.
Police from all over have issued warnings to parents after reports of deaths caused by the game. “Our advice, as always, is to supervise the games your kids play,” says a Facebook post from the Police Service of Northern Ireland. “And be extremely mindful of the videos they are watching on YouTube. Ensure that the devices they have access to are restricted to age-suitable content.”
