What is the Blue Whale Challenge ?

"Blue Whale" is an internet 'game' where an individual willingly leaks their personal information to an 'administrator', who then assigns them a different daily task each day over the course of 50 days. The final task is for the 'player' to commit suicide. Any attempt to drop out, cheat, or otherwise end the game prematurely will result in the participant having their personal information and location leaked, usually on the Deep Web.

It started back in 2013, but the first suicide attributed to the game occurred in 2015. In 2016, a Russian journalist essentially revived it's popularity when it was mentioned in an article regarding unresolved suicides. It was apparently started by a man named Phillipp Budeikin, who pled guilty to inciting the suicide of 16 teenage girls, and claims he started the 'game' to purge society of those weak enough to commit suicide. The name 'Blue Whale' comes from the idea that whales beaching themselves is similar to suicide, and was later expanded to claim one of the tasks always assigned to participants is to carve a whale symbol into their wrist.

From 2016 onwards, the game has gained a lot of urban legend status; many creepypasta-style works and other fictional stories have been created, depicting it as a shadowy global network, a major threat to humanity, etc. Others have claimed the entire thing from start to finish is bogus.

However, there have been instances of injury and suicide linked more or less to the 'game'. A 14-year old student from Andheri in Mumbai may be the first reported Indian victim+ of the 'The Blue Whale Challenge' game, which appears to be still influencing people despite its creator Philipp Budeikin being thrown in jail last month.

Some have claimed they're making this suicide out to be more than it is, but others have claimed it's true. Regardless, the game is certainly real and does have some influence to some extent.

For a video summary and analysis, I recommend watching the Youtube video made on the subject by user "ScareTheater".

What I think ?

It was a hoax, a joke, a meme. Reporters took it as a fact and spread it as such knowingly or unknowingly which in turn might have made it into a real thing as many 'imitators' popped up. Deciding to commit suicide is an incredibly "personal" thing, even if it's just an attempt to draw attention to your problems. Taking part in a game straight out of urban legends for someone else's amusement is the exact opposite of that.

So if you're even remotely feeling depressed or think have symptoms of it, please contact me via email or on facebook or twitter.

I'm here to help...