Social media challenges have been popping up on various platforms over the years. They have included everything from dancing in public to pranking mom, to eating cinnamon. There have also been a number of dangerous challenges, which, when held to scrutiny, have been determined to be hoaxes, or created by online trolls to see who they could convince to fall for the challenge.

One of the latest social media challenges to surface is the Momo challenge. The South East Cornerstone Public School Division learned of the challenge and advised parents of it via email Thursday.

The challenge is said to have started in 2016 through the instant messaging service WhatsApp. Children would receive a message from a user called Momo, and the image associated with the account was of a sculpture created by a Japanese special effects company a number of years ago.

The messages would start out fairly innocuous, before turning down a much darker avenue, challenge the children to commit self-harm while also encouraging violent or suicidal behaviour.

Lately, the Momo challenge has been linked to videos on YouTube. It is purported the image has been inserted into videos which are otherwise considered innocent, such as toy reviews, or videos containing popular children’s characters.

According to multiple sources, including the fact-verification site snopes.com, there have been no verified accounts of the Momo challenge actually happening. The situation has helped start a conversation between parents and children.

In the email which was sent to parents, the SECPSD said parents should monitor their children’s online activities, and talk with children regarding all aspects of their online activity.

 

The Saskatchewan RCMP also released a statement:

The Saskatchewan RCMP is aware that there is information circulating concerning the existence of online challenges targeting youth, encouraging them to perform harmful practices and dangerous tasks.

At this time, we have not received any complaints relating to any online challenges in Saskatchewan RCMP jurisdiction; however, it is important for parents and guardians to report anything suspicious or concerning that their child encounters online. If someone has something to report, they are asked to call their local police service or RCMP Detachment.

The following things can help keep youth safe when navigating online or on social media platforms:

-Be careful of giving out too much personal information and remember that the information that you put on your profile can be seen by everyone, even if your account/profile is set to private. Your personal information/image(s) may be used in ways that you never intended.

-Photos posted online are not private property and anything you upload online can be shared by others, potentially with thousands of people, within hours of your posting. It’s also easy to alter an image using photo editing software.

-Remember that once you post something online, you can’t control who that information is shared with – and removing it from wherever you posted it doesn’t permanently remove it from the internet.

-Tell someone, like a parent, guardian or trusted adult, if something online is making you concerned or uncomfortable. Your safety is important and an adult will be able to provide you with guidance.

Here are a few reminders for parents and guardians:

-Take an interest in what your children are doing online.

-Talk openly with your children about online safety and educate them on the risks of online interactions.

-Make sure the protection features of websites and software your children use are activated. There are tools available through your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to help you manage your children's online experience (i.e. appropriate websites, amount of time spent online, who can and cannot contact them). It might also include other security features, such as pop-up ad blockers.

-Get to know the online environments your children use and teach them how to deal with inappropriate material.

-Stay in the know about the latest ways children are communicating and what they're up to when they're at friends' houses.

-Keep an eye on the sites they're visiting by keeping the computer in a common area like the kitchen.

-Report anything suspicious or concerning that your child encounters online by contacting your local police service or RCMP Detachment.