# A step to save children from dark side of internet
Indian government has directed internet majors Google, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to immediately remove links of the dangerous online game Blue Whale Challenge, which has led to suicides of children in India and other countries.

"Instances of children committing suicide while playing Blue Whale Challenge have been reported in India...You are hereby requested to ensure that any such link of this deadly game in its own name or similar game is immediately removed from your platform," the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) said in a letter to the internet majors.

The letter, dated August 11, was issued following instructions from IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, an official source said.

# What is BLUE WHALE challenge or game?
* The Blue Whale challenge is not a video game. It is simply a set of instructions, like a chain letter, but made viral with social media.
* Social media savvy teens have discovered this challenge from different hashtags on Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
* The challenge was created by Philipp Budeikin, a 22-year-old Russian, who directly handed out instructions to some children. In an interview this year, he said he made the game to "clean society," as people who participated in it were "biological waste." He has been jailed for three years. It remains unclear who is the current administrator now, and how many of them exist.
* It gets its name from beached whales, that get stranded and die. Reports of deaths linked to the Blue Whale game go back to 2015, and started in Russia.
* More details at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Whale_(game)
![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRCgnkNY7zbR6wNvTSLG75TnXDPUeCwuNWWTff1U7G3dk/image.png)

# Prevention is better than cure
* In order to understand what a child is going through, parents and schools have a vital role to play. They need to spend more time with kids and keep an eye of their routine, added the psychiatrists.
* If the teenagers are seemingly lost, lonely and depressed, parents and school managements must take serious and immediate action to get them involved socially in the real world and divert their mind by providing activities or giving them something new to learn.
* The internet is an uncontrolled and uncensored entity, which makes it hard to control all activities that young adults may indulge in, better to keep a check on your kid's online activities.
* Treat your child as a friend and try to establish a relationship where the child is open to share his/her feeling with you without any fear.
* If you discover any sign of depression or sadness in your child's behavior, don't take it lightly, handle the situation carefully and prudently.

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZurxLsRWRkG4hQ3weZuNmVU5MaPCTt6sMwrjdZtDak9K/image.png)
_Unbelievable pic from a teen before committing suicide because of blue whale challenge/game_

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