The psychology behind the deadly “Blue Whale”
“The greatest gift we can give to our children is not to fix all their problems, instead take them to the well and teach them how to drink”
Today’s media is filled with articles about this lethal game called blue whale which targets the teens and the young adults. As we all are aware of, it is a 50-day challenge which has suicide as the final task.
What I would like to talk here is not about the game but about the psychology behind such teasers.
The first thing we need to know is the characteristics of the teens. Teens are in general very curious to know new and try different things which involve risk. That is the reason this blue whale is targeted on teens. We would have heard an adolescent girl saying that no one understands how she feels hurt because of being betrayed by a friend. Often we hear adolescents saying to their parents, ‘you don’t understand me’. To retain their sense of uniqueness they create stories filled with fantasies. This way they create and live in a world that is far from reality. Some examples of fantasy stories that teens are much interested are – Harry Potter series, The Maze Runner, Jumanji etc, and series like the game of thrones, Flash etc.
During adolescence, a detachment process enables them to develop a personalized set of beliefs. In this process of achieving an identity for themselves that develop conflicts with parents sometimes. When they are not able to cope with this identity crisis they are confused. In this identity confusion, they isolate themselves from peers and parents. Only such teens enter into playing such games.
As parents and elders what we can do is that to make them aware of their social responsibilities and develop feelings of self-worth in them. This will enable them to develop more confidence and have a positive attitude towards life.
If you find your child facing troubles in sleep, isolating him or herself from the group or any change in his/her regular behavioural pattern feel free to get help and guidance from an expert.