In the know
2022 - What's new to look out for?
As we move further into 2022, we are introduced to new online safety concerns. This term, we have come across a character called 'Huggy Wuggy' who is featuring in real playground games with children as young as 4 years. Although its name sounds childlike and harmless, the character actually comes from a PC-based horror game called 'Poppy Playtime'. Huggy Wuggy is a giant, scary-looking toy who follows the player around an abandoned toy factory with the intention of catching and eating the player. Despite this being a game designed for PC users, there have been several copycat versions released in other platforms such as Roblox, Minecraft and as stand alone apps. Also, as is the fashion, younger players often video themselves playing the game and release these on YouTube for general viewing. Children may well know about content from watching others play it, rather than actually playing it themselves. This is a 'horror game' with no age-limit attached to it. Its purpose is to scare the game player.
A video shared on YouTube of somebody playing and sharing Poppy Playtime images.
In the know
Autumn update - It's not a game for children
There's been a lot happening this term when it comes to social media, children and schools. Lots to explore and, more importantly, lots to clarify. Let's start with Squid Game...
Children as young as 4 and 5 yrs old are mimicking some of the games that appear in the South Korean series. This is a series with a Netflix age rating of TV-MA (not suitable for children under 17).
The series follows a group of 456 'contestants' who are all competing against each other to win 45.6 billion dollars. The contestants have been chosen due to their financial debt and all take part in series of 'games' until a winner is declared. Each game is based around a known children's game, however, if a contestant fails a game, they are immediately killed.
The graphic nature of the filming leaves little to the imagination and, for many adults, let alone children, the images are very disturbing.
The most common game being mimicked in school seems to be 'Red light, Green light' - a take on 'Peep behind the curtain' or 'What's the time Mr Wolf?' where players have to freeze when the 'Front Man' looks around. In this round of Squid Game, a player caught moving when they should be freezing, is shot dead.
Children are talented at making their way around technology, they can use voice recognition to search for things and many are able to access accounts such as Netflix. If something you see or hear concerns you, talk to your child's school to see if they can help to tackle the problem.
In the know
What's new?
To try and help everyone keep up with the latest online searches and apps, this page will be updated, along with the blog, to try and keep everyone informed.
Let's start with the search phrase 'Back to school necklace'...
On the face of it, this phrase seems innocent enough. A child searching to try and keep up with the latest trends. Unfortunately that is not the case. Once searched for using a search engine, it becomes clear that this is a euphemism for a noose and symbolises the feeling of despair that some pupils might feel when returning to school after the holidays. These images can be very distressing and will often link to other harmful sites and pop ups.
There's also an app out there called 'Monkey' which allows users to have video calls with strangers. The site is marketed in a similar way to TikTok and Omegle, but, sadly, has been reviewed to reveal large amounts of inappropriate, disturbing and harmful content, often transmitted via web camera. Apple have removed the app from their app store, however, there are still ways to download it onto iPhones, using websites such as TweakElite. It is still available to download from the Google PlayStore. Look out for a purple square with a cartoon monkey face on it.
