Reuters (3/8, Rapaport) reported, “Social media posts about suicide games may spread for months online before mainstream media reports help alert parents to the potential threat,” researchers concluded after collecting “95,555 social media posts and news articles about the blue whale challenge” across “social media and mainstream news outlets from 2013 to 2017.” The study revealed that “by the time the first U.S. news article about this suicide game appeared, the game had been circulating in English language social media posts for four months and in other languages for nine months.” The findings were published online Feb. 26 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Related Links:
— “Social Media Posts About Suicide Games May Spread For Months Online Before Mainstream Media Reports Help Alert Parents To The Potential Threat, Study Indicates, “Lisa Rapaport, Reuters, March 08, 2019