“If you don’t pass the challenge, you are not worthy to be part of the group.” This is often the psychological blackmail at the basis of online challenges, sextreme fide And high-risk resistance tests which can be considered a sneaky one evolution of cyberbullying and which constitute for adolescents one of the most dangerous aspects of the web today.
Boiler Summer Cupbetween bullying and body shaming
Online trials typically involve people who they film themselves while doing something extreme and sharing videos for encourage others to repeat the same actions. Not only extreme gestures: it also happens that at the center of online challenges there are no high-risk actions but outright bullying, as evidenced by the latest “challenge” that is circulating these days on TikTok. It is called Boiler Summer Cup and passed off as a game which, however, has nothing really joking about it. The purpose? Those who decide to participate must seduce a girl with a few extra pounds, obtaining a different score: the more curvy the girls, the more points they earn. Obviously posting everything on the net.
«The themes of this challenge they touch on body shaming, bullying, misogyny, discrimination in general and can also be considered an instigation to an eating disorder – specifies the doctor Francesca Rossipsychologist and expert in the developmental area – The challenge for the conquest of girls responds to the emotional need for self-esteem, which grows together with Like. It is a question of a relationship functional to one’s own pleasure, to self-perception, which is very far from a relationship made up of authenticity and sincere altruism ».
How popular are the online challenges?
To investigate the phenomenon of online challenges was a survey by Skuola.net which involved 1,500 kids middle and high school. According to what emerged from the survey, more than 1 in 6 young people knows the Blackout Challenge. The 31% claims to have learned about it through readings on the web, the 25% through videos posted on social networks and again the 17% by word of mouth from peers.
The most alarming figure, however, concerns the young people who tried the challenges: according to the same survey among “informed” young people, almost 1 in 5 – or 18% – say they also have participated in the “game”. While as many as one in three, 30%, claim to know someone who has experienced the thrill of apparent death.
What pushes the kids to accept the challenge?
Among the reasons that push adolescents to end up in the challenge trap is the need to feel part of a groupthe wish of attract attention but above all the need to push beyond normality, becoming the protagonists of adrenaline experienceseven at the cost of accomplishing acts of disfigurement to the detriment of school, family or institutions.
Again according to the survey by Skuola.netthe 56% of the children involved wants to make a video to go viral online, the 10% wants to have fun in an alternative way, the8% experience the promised feeling of unconsciousness and the 5% feel bad to skip a few days of school. Finally, the 21% he cannot give an excuse.
Advice for parents
The Postal Police has also made parents aware of the risks of online challenges in recent years (www.commissariatodips.it), promoter of initiatives aimed at spreading responsible use of the network among children.
To prevent risks, of paramount importance for parents always stay up to date on what the new dangers may be that run on the web. On the FB page of the Postal Police A social life are, for example, published specific alerts that inform you about the latest dangers found online. At the same time, it is important report promptly to the Postal Police videos of dangerous challenges or invitations to take part in challenges received by the children.
Recently, moreover, too Carolina Foundationcommitted for years to support parents and educators by providing support tools useful in preventing online risks, has new portal launched minorionline.com. The purpose is to provide a practice guide on online dangers through clear, innovative information tools that are always in step with the times. On the site it is indeed possible to find the list and description, always updated, of the main social networks used every day by children but also by gods riskier viral phenomenajust like the online challenges.
How to help children to prevent the risks of online challenges?
So what behaviors should be adopted to help children and to prevent the risks associated with online challenges? In the gallery below, here it is 5 tips for parents provided by the psychologist Francesca Rossi.
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1/6Talk to the guys
The first useful tip is to raise awareness among children about the risks to which they expose themselves by participating in the challenges: a peaceful dialogue is essential and must take place both in the family and at school.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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2/6Recognize the alarm bells
Another tip is to pay attention to any changes in adolescent behavior: the alarm bells can be closure, lack of communication, unmotivated aggressive attitudes, insomnia, loss of appetite, significant changes in weight and even self-harm.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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3/6Helping girls to become aware of their worth
As for the risks associated with the new Boiler Summer Cup, the psychologist stresses the importance of supporting girls so that they can become aware of the value of their authenticity and diversity, “to be able to watch over themselves and their friends and be prudent, letting confidence is gradually granted in a knowledge that deepens over time “- underlines the expert -” The most important thing is that every girl can be aware of her talents and her limits, can accept the latter as part of herself, desiring also improve oneself, but always out of love for oneself and never to obtain the benevolence of others ».
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4/6Monitoring of the use of Social and App
To help children intercept dangerous channels it is good to monitor the use of Social and App. It is important not to be deceived by technological skills of children because these do not always go hand in hand with capacity, linked to cerebral maturity, to understand the risks of some proposals. The boys – deluded that “Other people have done it”- risk not being able to assess the dangers they run into. The idea of always being able to control the situation is illusory. Furthermore, the reactions of the public are often not considered: the victim of a joke could, for example, react in a violent way, or the spectators could incite to do more and more dangerous actions.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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5/6Keep an eye on friendships and the target group
What is good to keep in mind, according to the psychologist, is also that the desire to belong to the group it can be very strong and, in some situations, children may find themselves willing to do anything to satisfy this need. Avoiding to put in place a control that would be invasive, it is good anyway pay attention to the relationships of the children so as to be able to monitor their quality as well. A good opportunity also to “test” the self-esteem of children and, possibly, reinforce it, so that they can feel appreciated and well-liked, transferring this benevolent gaze also in their way of seeing themselves.
Photo: Unsplash.com
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6/6Relying on platforms and apps
Finally, it may be useful to rely on platforms and apps that can promptly help the child if in trouble. Among the most recent, there is also Convy School, app born from the intuition of Valerio Pastore, an expert in IT security and military cryptography. The app has been designed to prevent bullying and cyberbullying and is based on a technology that can help schools to apply the provisions contained in the Law No. 71 of 2017 on cyberbullying. The application works like a chat and allows kids to report cases of harassment to school representatives in total safety, because after just five minutes, the messages self-destruct. In addition, the software is equipped with a semantic intelligence that perceives the tone of the signals arriving at teachers marked with green or red light according to the level of severity (for info: www.convyschool.com)
Photo: Pexels.com
Source: Vanity Fair
