Blue Whale, the game banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) and held responsible for a series of teen in suicides across the globe, is not a downloadable game, after all, Liquid Telecom Kenya has said.
The Internet Service Provider has conducted its own research into torrent flows, app downloads and network data, and this morning confirmed that it can find no evidence of the existence of any such game as a structured, downloadable product that can be classified or banned.
Rise of dare groups
“Blue Whale is not a game in the sense of being a video, or an app, or a website, or any structured product. If it exists, it is an activity, just as ‘Truth or Dare’ has been a ‘game’ played by teenagers over the decades,” said Ben Roberts, the Chief Technical Officer of Liquid Telecom Group and Chairman of Liquid Telecom.
“As a ‘game’, it may be something that teenagers are doing on social media, setting these dares in groups, or across accounts: but it has no identifiable structure or means of being prevented or blocked by Internet Service Providers.”
The possible adoption by teenagers of the game as an activity has prompted media coverage globally, and rumours that have spanned claims that phones are being attacked by an unbidden app that cannot be deleted and opens the ‘dare’ conversation with the teen phone owner.
SEE ALSO: How Blue Whale infiltrated into Kenya
“This is completely false,” said Mr Roberts. “Given the reported tragic consequences, out of concern we took it as a leading ISP we should look into this matter extensively. From our scanning of all apps available via the app stores; and with phones locked to app stores, and able to use third party deletion tools wherever they are jail-broken; we carried out a supplementary search of global torrents, and there is additionally no trace of any such app in global torrents, which leaves no means for any app to be downloaded.”
The main way in which youngsters may be participating in the Blue Whale Challenge, which reportedly sees them complete dares set by a ‘minder’ until the final dare becomes to commit suicide, is through social media.
Having joined a ‘death group’, they are reported to be posting pictures of each completed dare, which moves towards self harm as the game progresses.
Globally, experts have urged friends and family to understand any move to self harm to be treated as a coping mechanism, and move swiftly to provide help and support for the underlying depression. Worldwide, some 10 to 15 per cent of teenagers go through at least one phase of depression, which can lead to self harm.
According to leading psychiatrist Dr Frank Njenga, the symptoms of teenage depression include sadness, irritability and anger, isolation and withdrawal, a sense of hopelessness and worthlessness, and declining school performance. Young people often don’t express their depression in a clear way, but can show they are affected by withdrawing or through negative behaviour.
NEXT READ: How to protect children from Blue Whale and other online threats
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