TN Govt issues advisory to parents about Blue Whale
tnn | Sep 6, 2017, 03:27 IST
CHENNAI: A day after a Madras high court directive asking the state government to step up vigilance, the Tamil Nadugovernment on Tuesday issued an advisory to parents and teachers to observe the behaviour of children closely to identify any unusual changes in the wake of the fast spreading 'Blue Whale Challenge' that has resulted in the deaths of several teenagers worldwide including India. The advisory has come in the wake of a youngster committing suicide in Madurai district recently. State DGP T K Rajendrantoo issued a similar advisory.
In a statement, the government said it is the children in the age group of 12 - 19 years, the most vulnerable group over the internet to be most prone to Blue WhaleChallenge and similar games. Psychologists have observed that children playing such online games tend to stay by themselves, stop interacting with family and friends, often talk about running away from home and even about death. There will be changes in their eating and sleeping habits too, the statement said.
Hence, both the parents and teachers are advised to observe the children's behaviour closely to identify any unusual changes like moodiness, less or no communication and lack of interest in studies among others, which may be an indication of the children falling prey to these "evil online games". If they find out any incidences of children playing this game, they are advised to stop them from using internet from any devices and to inform the local police authorities, besides providing psychological counselling to the player through government hospitals and NGOs.
The government asked members of the public and internet users to refrain from forwarding any online links related to this game and thereby make youth vulnerable. Any such act is illegal and is punishable as per law. It also advised people not to forward any such viral messages originating from not-so credible sources.
The statement also pointed out that 'Blue Whale Challenge' is technically not an application based game easily downloadable from websites or official play stores, but involves performing activities assigned by the administrator/curator of a closed group social media forum that include online gaming groups, message boards and other online community messaging areas. This game is available under different names such as A Silent House, A Sea of Whales and Wake Me Up at 4.20 AM and is mostly played using smart phones or similar devices.
tnn | Sep 6, 2017, 03:27 IST
CHENNAI: A day after a Madras high court directive asking the state government to step up vigilance, the Tamil Nadugovernment on Tuesday issued an advisory to parents and teachers to observe the behaviour of children closely to identify any unusual changes in the wake of the fast spreading 'Blue Whale Challenge' that has resulted in the deaths of several teenagers worldwide including India. The advisory has come in the wake of a youngster committing suicide in Madurai district recently. State DGP T K Rajendrantoo issued a similar advisory.
In a statement, the government said it is the children in the age group of 12 - 19 years, the most vulnerable group over the internet to be most prone to Blue WhaleChallenge and similar games. Psychologists have observed that children playing such online games tend to stay by themselves, stop interacting with family and friends, often talk about running away from home and even about death. There will be changes in their eating and sleeping habits too, the statement said.
Hence, both the parents and teachers are advised to observe the children's behaviour closely to identify any unusual changes like moodiness, less or no communication and lack of interest in studies among others, which may be an indication of the children falling prey to these "evil online games". If they find out any incidences of children playing this game, they are advised to stop them from using internet from any devices and to inform the local police authorities, besides providing psychological counselling to the player through government hospitals and NGOs.
The government asked members of the public and internet users to refrain from forwarding any online links related to this game and thereby make youth vulnerable. Any such act is illegal and is punishable as per law. It also advised people not to forward any such viral messages originating from not-so credible sources.
The statement also pointed out that 'Blue Whale Challenge' is technically not an application based game easily downloadable from websites or official play stores, but involves performing activities assigned by the administrator/curator of a closed group social media forum that include online gaming groups, message boards and other online community messaging areas. This game is available under different names such as A Silent House, A Sea of Whales and Wake Me Up at 4.20 AM and is mostly played using smart phones or similar devices.
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