Do we know what our kids are watching?
IRISH parents have once again been urged to take a proactive approach to monitoring their children’s online activity following the discovery of a sinister so-called ‘challenge’ which encourages viewers to harm and even kill themselves.
The Momo game hacks into online videos on apps such as YouTube and video games like Fortnite and shows a creepy female character which says she will curse the child if they do not so as she tells them.
It is believed that the game could have the same effect as the deadly ‘Blue Whale’ craze a few years back which was responsible for the death of a number of children and teenagers worldwide.
Like many of these dangerous online creations, fear is used to prevent the child from confiding in an adult and it is believed that Momo has been doing the rounds for some time now.
Such is the concern over this activity that police services across the world have issued warnings to parents and guardians to be extra vigilant when it comes to the online activity of children.
There is no logical reason why some sick individual would create such an evil ‘game’ but the sad reality is that they exist and it is up to parents to be extra cautious.
Unfortunately, many parents find it incredibly difficult to keep on top of this and the ever changing nature of online controls.
The fact that this creepy and dangerous content has the ability to circumvent parental controls means that both parents and internet security services have to up their game considerably.
Technology is the future and while we cannot avoid our kids using the internet or smart devices indefinitely, there really must be a tight control over what they are exposed to.
The worrying reality is that, if parents and the authorities are only finding out about the likes of Momo now, then it means that it has been available to kids for a considerable time before this and who knows how many children have been exposed to it.
The nature of this content is to target and damage the vulnerable and children are exactly this.
While the sound we can hear coming from a device seems to match the video they were permitted to watch, what is on screen could differ greatly and unless we literally sit and watch the screen with them, they are at risk of being exposed to all sorts of inappropriate content.