Online suicide challenges like ‘Blue Whale’ must be banned to protect vulnerable teens

Some popular suicide-related social media games have been trending online lately, especially among youngsters. These include the “Blue Whale” suicide-challenge, a game which asks players to inflict harm on themselves and the final of 50 tasks is to commit suicide in order to win the game.

Shows with dark themes such as the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why have also sparked worry about their glorification of teen suicide and the possible impact on vulnerable young minds.

I am concerned about the impact of such games and shows on Hong Kong students, given all the academic pressure they face. Playing games that incite you to self-harm are very dangerous, as it teaches vulnerable youngsters that suicide or self-harm are good ways to deal with problems in life.

I believe such harmful online content should be banned as, once it becomes a trend, it will have a deeply negative influence on society and future generations.

Most importantly, with most parents working long hours to support their families, their children may feel neglected. In an attempt to try to solve problems on their own, they may resort to extreme means like playing online games with harmful content.