Blue Whale Phenomenon

Any game is intended for entertainment. However, some of them have a perverse component that can lead to extreme situations and even suicide. This is what happens with the phenomenon of the blue whale, a fashion that began in Russia in 2013 to through Facebook and that has currently been viralized all over the planet through different networks social.

In this context, too, the idea of ​​calling this phenomenon a game must be questioned, as a consequence of the level of challenge and danger it exposes.

Mechanics of the proposal

A user receives an invitation through Facebook to start the "adventure" of the blue whale. The user, usually a Teen, you begin to receive a series of instructions on 50 tests that must be passed over 50 days. One of them is precisely to draw the figure of a blue whale in some part of the body through cuts with a sharp object.

There are all kinds of potential challenges: staying awake for 24 hours, to write an acronym in the palm of the hand with a knife, watching horror videos after a certain time, self-whipping in different ways, etc.

When a challenge is overcome, a photographic proof of the result must be sent to the administrator of the Facebook account and it proposes the overcoming of an upcoming challenge with greater difficulty and risk.

The end of the cycle consists of committing suicide following the instructions of the Facebook account.

A macabre form of escape with dramatic consequences

Of course, whoever is behind this phenomenon is committing various crimes, such as incitement to suicide or psychological torture, among others. On the other hand, whoever plays the game is acting irrationally and puts her life in danger. It should be noted that young people who manage to abandon this absurd entertainment can suffer serious psychological consequences.

At present, numerous acts of suicide have already been committed in connection with this phenomenon. To combat this type of criminal acts masked in the form of a game, the police forces and the media communication they are alerting society.

This modality is defined by its administrators as a challenge for personal improvement, a name that may be attractive to adolescents who seek emotions intense and unaware of the consequences of their actions.

The psychological profile of the practitioners

According to some studies, those who get hooked on this phenomenon have the following profile psychological: adolescents without aspirations, with poor academic results, with situations unstable emotional or depressive states and that seek with the blue whale a social recognition and a major self-esteem.

Photos: Fotolia - Tohey / Rainer Fuhrmann