Children’s Advocate, Diahann Gordon Harrison, is warning Jamaican parents to observe if there is a change in the behaviour of their children, who use social media.

This, in the wake of reports out of Europe, of a social media game, the Blue Whale Challenge, that has reportedly caused over 130 teen suicides.

In a statement today (Apl 11), the Advocate noted that the chilling social media game is making the rounds across the globe, including Caribbean territories.

Mrs. Gordon Harrison says the blue whale challenge directly puts the tools of self-harm at the fingertips of children and this trend should be resisted.

Highlighting the severity of the matter, Mrs. Gordon Harrison says Jamaica needs to be ahead of the curve on this matter, as it’s just a matter of time before it becomes widespread locally.

She says, while the OCA has not received any report of the game being in the island, with the high number of contact hours that teenagers and younger children in Jamaica spend on social media, it is highly probable that they are aware of this game, and may very well become curious about it.

The OCA says it does not want children to experiment and/or self harm as a result of this ‘game’ or any other.

The game instructs children to perform 50 tasks, the last one usually resulting in their deaths.