The game suicidal

Police are said to be probing a number of suicides across Russia which they fear are linked to the online craze. Investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported: "We have counted suicides of children that took place between November to April Two schoolgirls Yulia Konstantinova, 15, and Veronika Volkova, 16, fell to their deaths from the roof of a storey apartment block.

A year-old girl from India allegedly taking part in the suicide game was so desperate to die she tried to kill herself twice in just two days, according to reports. She was recovering from injuries sustained while jumping into a lake when she took a near-fatal drug overdose at home.

Another unnamed year-old girl was also critically injured after falling on to snowy ground from a fifth floor flat in the city of Krasnoyarsk, also Siberia. Two days earlier, a year-old girl from Chita was reported to have thrown herself under a commuter train.

A year-old boy was also saved from killing himself after he was spotted perching on the edge of a roof in Lviv, Ukraine. A family raced to stop a year-old girl from killing herself, with the young girl reportedly now recovering in a hospital in Barcelona. The Russian parliament proposed a bill bringing about criminal responsibility for the creation of pro-suicide groups on social media. This will need to be signed by President Vladimir Putin and would see those who incited others to commit suicide jailed for up to four years.

Cops are said to have launched a probe into the sick craze sweeping Russia - the suicide capital of the world. It was reported that two teenage boys were detained by police at the scene after allegedly filming the tragic double suicide of Yulia and Veronika. She is sticking her middle finger up at the camera.

It looks like it's covered in dried blood. The photo's caption read: "Nya bye". The next day, she took her own life. Rina Palenkova's death was discussed in a certain type of chat room hosted by Russia's largest social network VKontakte. These forums were places where teenagers met to talk about everyday things like school and which classmates they fancied, as well as darker subject matter: depression, loneliness and suicide.

Scary stories were exchanged. The spookiness of these stories came from how real they seemed, something often achieved through fake pictures or doctored footage. It is the online equivalent of the claim made by classic horror films that they are "based on true events".

Because at the heart of any good ghost story is a sliver of plausibility. It was in these groups, where the line between fact and fiction was often blurred, that users posted feverishly about Rina. In some instances, they lauded her for ending her life. Videos purporting to be her final moments were posted online. And shortly thereafter, Rina's story merged with other stories of teenage suicide.

A little over a fortnight later, so did Diana Kuznetsova, a teenager from the same city. When the parents examined the online accounts left behind by their daughters, they found something curious - the two girls were part of similar online groups.

In these groups were drawings of Rina Palenkova, posts about suicide and numerous mentions of blue whales. There has been much speculation about how whales became linked to suicide in these groups.

Some journalists claim it is because whales have been known to beach themselves, a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists. Others say that it is a reference to lyrics from a Russian rock band named Lumen. It's difficult, of course, to say why certain images particularly resonate.

Whales are solitary-seeming, sad-looking animals. They make for good memes. One of the most widely shared images was of a whale flying over a city at night. It captured the spirit of these groups - melancholy and quietly surreal.

But it wasn't until May that speculation about blue whales and suicide became part of the national conversation in Russia. An article by journalist Galina Mursalieva in Novaya Gazeta, an investigative newspaper, sent the story into overdrive.

Mursalieva suggested that inside certain online groups, some of them with enigmatic names like "Ocean Whales" and "f57", existed a game. In this game, so-called "curators" would set players 50 tasks over 50 days. On the last day the user was instructed to take their own life. The Novaya Gazeta report estimated that children might have killed themselves between November and April because of their participation in these groups.

It would come to be known worldwide as the Blue Whale challenge. It did not take long for the story to cause considerable alarm. Players can create co-op sessions with parties of up to four friends, but it's unknown whether parties can choose the same villain or not. While both DC and Marvel have a hefty collection of superheroes with riveting storylines and pulse-pounding action, each franchise tends to neglect their villains, especially in games.

While Batman: Arkham allowed players to control characters like Deathstroke in exclusive levels, popular titles like Spider-Man fail to shine the spotlight on their antagonists. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League forces villains into a heroic role and encourages further development of the characters during the game's story. While Rocksteady Studios has refrained from releasing many details concerning Kill the Justice League's story, it's likely for each member of Task Force X to experience some character growth during the campaign.

Generally, heroes are often more popular than villains in DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, and other high-profile comic book distributors. The Justice League is no exception, with famous, classic heroes like Batman and Superman reigning supreme.

Due to this popularity, comic book fans and communities have high expectations for representations of their favorite characters. Though comic characters like Batman can change between continuities, many aspects of the character's backstories, abilities, and personality remain static.

Harley Quinn has changed from Batman: Arkham and other popular forms of media, becoming vastly independent from the Joker's abuse. This growth has allowed Harley Quinn to become a far more interesting character and represented a shift in the paradigm for female characters in comics.

Another boy poured alcohol on his chest, set it on fire, and when asked why he did so, he said he had no idea. Directly playing with vulnerable kids, this game makes teenagers cut themselves on purpose, click pictures of the injuries, and upload these online.

It gives them a sense of identity, however misplaced it is. These trends often go unnoticed until the time they become viral. Parents seek help for their kids but sometimes it gets too late. Therefore it's important to talk to the children right now and gauge if anything is bothering them. Helping them understand the dangers of such trends can go a long way in saving innocent lives. Videos News India. Latest Stories. Mutual Funds. Worth X. Science And Future.