Have you heard of the Blue Whale "game"? Chances are you have. This game, or let's just say "thing", is one big talking point right now because it is making many in the world harm themselves. It's virtual. And yet it is making people do activities in the real world, activities that involve self harm and even suicide. More than 100 people, mostly teens, allegedly committed suicide because they were "playing" the Blue Whale game. Even in India, there is a talk that recently when a teen in Mumbai committed suicide he took the extreme step after "playing" the Blue Whale.

The problem with the whole hypothesis is that the Blue Whale is not a game. And no, it has not forced people to commit suicide. People have nudged children to commit suicide. Realising this is important to understand the Blue Whale and keep your kids safe from it.

Before talking about what is the Blue Whale, let's clear a few misconceptions:

1- Blue Whale is not an app. You can't install Blue Whale game. Although now there are many app in the Google Play store, they have nothing to do with the notorious "Blue Whale".

2- Blue Whale is not a game you or your kids can play on a computer. You can't install it from the web and then play it. You can't play it on Xbox or Playstation.

3- There is no particular website, app or service where you can access Blue Whale. You can't type a website address in Chrome browser and end up inside Blue Whale game or become a part of it.

So, if the Blue Whale is not a game or an app or a website, then what it is and why it is dangerous? The Blue Whale is a sort of phenomenon. But a sick phenomenon. It may have had a beginning in Russia -- the guy who reportedly came up with it is called Philipp Budeikin and he is now in jail -- but now this whole thing is gone viral. It now has a life of its own where the sick and psychos from across the world are searching for vulnerable teens with who they can toy with.

The best way to understand the Blue Whale is to look at the Ice Bucket Challenge, which too went viral on the web. The Ice Bucket Challenge spread after social media people tagged their friends and asked them to complete it. This was all for a good cause. It was simple. And a lot of people took up the challenge.

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The Blue Whale, meanwhile, is a similar sort of challenge but malicious. At its core is something that Budeikin reportedly said. He claimed that the idea behind the Blue Whale was to get rid of "biological waste" from the society. Or in other words it is to push vulnerable people, and kids with low self esteem, towards suicide.

Right now there is no clarity on just how many people are "playing" Blue Whale. But it is clear that there are people on the world wide web who are looking for vulnerable kids on social media, in forums, in the comments sections of sites like YouTube and on strange websites hosted in shadowy places. Once these people find the kids, or in other words their intended victims, communications are established over chat groups etc.

The whole Blue Whale thing is about manipulating vulnerable people. It's like something straight out of an Anthony Hopkins movie. When teens start talking to these strangers, they are given challenges. Completing these challenges is akin to playing the game. The self harm, including suicide, are some the challenges that need to be completed. It's nihilistic, the whole thing. But then nihilism has always found takers or have attracted vulnerable people.

Blue Whale: What to do about it

Given the fact that Blue Whale is not an app, or a game, or a computer virus, you can't tell your kids or friends to not install it or not play it. You can't filter it using an anti-virus. All you can do is tell your friends and kids to avoid it.

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There is an adage for the real world: "Don't talk to strangers". It applies on the virtual world too. You should tell your kids not to talk to strangers on the web, or on social media sites.

And it's not just talk. On some occasions talks are unavoidable. But always tell your friends and kids to talk sensibly. And follow the same rules yourself. Never give up too much information to strangers on the web or in a public forum, like a blog. Sure, you have trouble sleeping. But don't reveal it all in a blog post somewhere on the web. Talk to your friends, talk to doctors, talk to people who are close to you. But not strangers. Never reveal private information, your fears, your dreams, your vulnerabilities on the web.

The web can play trick on our minds. It is a beautiful tool. But dangerous too. And it can be used by all sorts of people for all sorts of things. Some people chose to build nice things with the web. Some choose to create something like the Blue Whale.