The blue whale game paradox, digital literacy and fake news

• Main Author: Polizzi, Gianfranco
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: London School of Economics and Political Science 2017
• Subjects: HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology; L Education (General); T Technology (General); Polizzi; Blue whale
• Online Access: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/79151/; http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/79151/1/Parenting%20for%20a%20Digital%20Future%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Blue%20Whale%20game%20paradox,%20digital%20literacy%20and%20fake%20news.pdf; http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/

Last week there were a number of news reports about the harmful effects of social media on the mental health of teens and young people. Responding to this, we are publishing two posts this week that address the topic. The first post was about young people encountering inappropriate content online. This second post by Gianfranco Polizzi looks at the Blue Whale game and digital literacy. ‘Fake news’, as Gianfranco Polizzi explores here, highlights the need for everyone, parents and children alike, to be digitally literate. In light of the viral Blue Whale game, Gianfranco questions the harmful effects of responding to online harm. Gianfranco is a PhD researcher in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. His academic background is in international communications studies and his doctoral project deals with critical digital literacy and political participation.