Contents
A wave of provocative videos on the social network that our children love so much has stirred up the public. What is happening and who is at risk? We discuss with experts.
At the end of February, videos appeared on the popular social network TikTok calling on children and teenagers to participate in the mass suicide action scheduled for March 3. All of them were accompanied by the hashtags #3 March, #suicide and #3martazhivi, which are currently blocked: instead of videos on the social network, a hotline pops up. But in a day, videos with hashtags managed to gain thousands of views.
The problem with the distribution of videos has grown to national proportions: Roskomnadzor began to track and block messages about suicides, and earlier the authorities called on teachers and class teachers of Russian schools to warn parents in chats about the impending action, asking them to remain vigilant and pay special attention to children.
“Dear parents, we draw your attention to a dangerous trend … We ask you to talk to your children on this topic, to tell them once again that you love them and they are dear to you. Only with care and attention can we protect our children from the real threat of manipulating their minds, ”these messages say.
A wave of viral videos on the Web provoked a number of the same viral messages in parent chats and, accordingly, panic. We talked to experts and found out how such content can affect children and what parents can do to prevent tragic events.
How should parents behave? A word to the experts
Tatyana Poddubnaya, psychotherapist:
“If a teenager does not receive emotional support at home, parents “squeeze” at home with the rules, studies and prohibitions, then he may be at risk. Statistically, teenage boys are more likely to commit suicide than girls. Transitional age is a period of change, formation. And boys need a mentor to grow up. If the father did not become him, then an understanding and accepting man may appear on the social network. And if such a “mentor” offers an idea that unites them with a teenager “against” their parents and even helps to “punish” them, this idea can be seductive for a child.
Elena Khromyleva-Bermejo, psychologist-psychotherapist, teacher, EOT therapist:
“Certainly, a person with a healthy psyche, with clear boundaries, minimally mentally traumatized, is absolutely not threatened by such calls. But many teenagers feel rejected, misunderstood, left alone with childhood traumas, with parental messages “don’t live”. Therefore, their internal “rebel” is easily provoked by external calls for suicide. They commit suicide so as not to suffer or to make their parents pay attention to them so that they regret it.
I would like to hope that against the backdrop of the chaos that has arisen, we will not lose sight of something important that should worry all moms and dads regularly, and not on this particular day: healthy communication with the child, attentive and respectful attitude towards him, his interests, everything what worries or worries him. If we stop blaming social networks for our own parental mistakes and take responsibility for the atmosphere in the family, our children will not be afraid of calls and provocations.