To wonder if Momo actually exists

[Mammylamb]

Have any of you actually seen it for yourself? Or is it an internet hoax?

Dgs aged 12 was shown the video by a friend at school. His younger brother , 10,hasn’t seen it but says the idea of it makes him feel ‘anxious’.

I’m sick of hearing about it!

I don't get why people on here are so smug about parents having real fears.

I can easily understand why parents may be whipped up into a frenzy over something unsubstantiated. I don't need to be smug about my position.

Momo is one drama that'll play out, but these types of videos do exist, are then deleted, then reloaded.
www.theweek.co.uk/99863/warning-over-suicide-guide-hidden-in-youtube-cartoons?amp

That's a fair point that the damage has been done @JustOneShadeOfGrey . Schools have fucked up by adding to the hype and doing these talks. I admit I hadn't thought about the children who've been forced into hearing about it and was more thinking about parents who've bought into the rumours.

If I was having to explain the situation, for children who've seen momo, I'd suggest showing them the actual artwork of Momo with pictures of real people stood next to it to show them it's just a statue. She looks a lot less scary when she has people posing next to her laughing at her and smiling. She's smaller and looks different with her chicken legs. I'd try and explain that some horrible people have made a scary picture of her without her daft legs to try and scare children and they've made some scary stories about her to make it sound real. If they haven't seen her already, I'd rinse and repeat without showing the picture. I'd link it to other fictional stories they know aren't real and try to explain it as momo is just like that but her story that people have made up is quite a scary one compared to usual.

I think for some children who've genuinely been terrified by the idea, it's going to take time to build their confidence in using their devices back up.

It reminds me of the messages that go out every Halloween about drugs being hidden or disguised as candy. I want to know where I can go trick or treating to get these free drugs!

@JustOneShadeOfGrey hope it works. Just link it to something he does understand,like people wearing costumes. They weren't real, this isn't real either,it's just people using an image/mask to scare others which makes them mean and daft. You could explain to him it's inspired from a real sculpture,and some people decided to use it because they thought it looked creepy and they're not even using the whole image as it's half bird and then it would be absolutely ridiculous. The main thing for him to understand here is that momo is not real and that there are people behind the whole thing.

We've just had an email about it too.

My kids hadn't heard of it. They are pretty switched on when it comes to the internet though and will come to us if they see something that bothers them (which I think has happened once). There are a lot of hysterical people who seem to think that this image is going to pop up half way through watching Fireman Sam on iPlayer. It's really not.

X cross posted with smashed . Her reply was more eloquent too.

The point is the fact that is was a hoax is irrelevant.

Now it’s become a meme, it is popping up and scaring children. Doesn’t matter that it’s a load of bollocks. The hoax becomes real. The reality may be different now to the faux reality at the beginning, but these things take off.

Doesn’t matter if it’s a load of rubbish if children are being scared witless by it. Like the clowns. Like slender man. Like anything that’s not real. And the reality is older mean kids will try to scare others with it.

That’s the reality.

Some people are missing the point.

@ThunderStorms

I agree that it's now 'real' in that sense but the hysteria and the incorrect information is what is ultimately feeding it. People need to understand that it isn't a man or a hacker or a 'sick individual' or whatever else.

How many kids would this have reached if it was never in the news? Now how many kids are scared by it because of schools and the media and well meaning friends on Facebook warning people about it?

I don’t think my 6 year old has heard of it but I don’t want to ask outright. He doesn’t use YouTube, occasionally plays Roblox on restricted mode. All my friends are claiming it has popped up on their kid’s devices!
The school sent a message out about it and I think that’s part of the problem and spreading it further.

Momo is one drama that'll play out, but these types of videos do exist, are then deleted, then reloaded

Which is why parents really need to educate themselves before letting their kids anywhere near the internet. YouTube isn't really for kids, not even YouTube kids. That's not to say you can't enjoy it with your child or allow them access once you've taught them internet safety.

Personally my kids weren't allowed anywhere near the internet until they were old enough to understand things like grooming, internet safety and insidious memes when they were explained in an age appropriate manner. They're now 12 and 16 and pretty savvy and are allowed to have access to the internet without direct supervision but the 12yo knows I can and do check her devices and social media use. Her IG tagline is currently Just Say No No to Momo.

She came to me for help when her friend was wondering whether to send topless photos to a boy she fancied at school so I trust her judgement and trust that she will talk to me if she is worried about anything online.

Clearly BS. The story about the hair cutting is ludicrous, my understanding is that the clip encourages you to contact 'Momo' via WhatsApp or Messenger and then you are sent a series of increasingly unpleasant challenges. I find it difficult to believe that a 5 yo can has access to those apps and can add new contacts.

At worst it's images being inserted into some clips, agree with other the hysteria is making it worse.

Now it’s become a meme, it is popping up and scaring children.

It's popping up because people are posting it on FB, schools are talking about it, people are SHOWING IT TO THEIR OWN KIDS.

And the way to stop it is to stop feeding the hysteria. There's at least 3 threads on this today. Most parents said they/their kids only know about it because the school mentioned it. A few others told the kids themselves. And two or three "youtube was hacked! It's real!! My brother's dog walker's friend's sisters kid saw it on peppa pig and roblox and fortnite". And so it spreads and the more it's in the media and the more people freak out about it trolls and cyber bullies and even possibly scammers(with a lot of time on their hands) have an incentive to use it.
It was all charlie bloody charlie last year. It died down.
Killer clowns before that. It died down.
But only once the majority said loud and clear it's bullshit and speculation stopped.

Also meant to add that now that every primary school in the country has sent out warning messages and it's being covered on the BBC, then the myth will be made reality.

Because there will be bored teens or other people who think it's funny to insert their own video into a Peppa Pig clip or whatever. Then the hystericals will be back shrieking "See! See! I TOLD you this Momo thing was real!"

It's popping up because people are posting it on FB, schools are talking about it, people are SHOWING IT TO THEIR OWN KIDS.

Yep. And kids try to scare other kids with it. Now it's 'out' you can’t put it back in the box. It’s 'real'. The craze will die down, but until then children need to be taught how to look after themselves.

This is why internet education is so important. And internet supervision. But a surprising number of people don’t monitor their children's access to the internet.

I hate it when schools 'educate' children in things they doesn’t need to know about, but you dint know what’s actually going on. Maybe that education is needed due to what’s going on within the school already.

The bbc shared the fake post of the ‘Manchester victims’ that was random youtubers pictures. So I wouldn’t be thinking they’re the be all and end all.

I work in a police station and no officers have mentioned it at all, they’ve got nothing on the noticeboards where stuff like this would go and we would have had a safeguarding report sent about it for our clients but nothing.

Fuckin school sent a stupid letter about it though didn’t they, rather mad about that as I wasn’t planning to mention it to my 10 year old incase he Google’s it (if he has any curiousity like I do it would be the first thing he did)

For those pulling children out of internet talks, assemblies etc - I agree the best way to make kids look for something is to tell them not to and schools telling the kids is stupid but my school did a talk this morning, I spent the rest of the day reassuring children and telling them to stop being silly/winding up more delicate children (depending on which child I was talking to) so if there is a talk your child is more than likely going to hear about it from someone, might be better from staff, or from you beforehand than for example from the child who told some of the children momo was in the toilets, because they thought it was funny!

Killer clowns were about when i was at primary in the 90s. Then they came back a few years ago so they'll come back again in a few years.

I remember the talking Angela thing as well as people were sharing it on fb. I replied to every one with a snopes link.

A friend on fb also said her 2 boys were terrified to sleep last night because of this momo thing but again no evidence.

I'm glad dd is only 2 and only watches peppa on the telly so I dont need to watch that crap on my phone. (Peppa not momo)

I think it's bs. There is no way a link wouldn't be doing the rounds if this is real.

DD2's friends told her about Momo. IDK where they heard it from. She asked me about it yesterday because her friends were worrying about it in a group chat and asking each other what they would do if Momo messaged them. She'd never heard of it until then and knows better than to rely on friends for accurate information so she asked me. We researched it together via snopes, thatsnonsense.com and other similar sites. She went back and told her friends if Momo does contact them it's just someone from their school being silly and to ignore it.

One of her friends is constantly sending me chain letters/memes telling me if I don't share this to ten contacts within ten minutes something terrible will happen. Her mother does the same on FB That friend is still terrified of Momo despite DD2's reassurances. Her mother who has both DD2 and daughter on FB is sharing links on Facebook warning about the 'deadly Momo suicide game' and advising people not to let their kids watch Peppa Pig on YouTube. She still hasn't removed her child from FB, IG or What's App .

To everyone having a moan about schools talking about it today, the school i’m at had to, it’s not a case of idiot teachers fuelling hysteria it’s poor parenting meaning some kids as young as 5 came in this morning telling their friends all about it, of course we had to say something before the whole school heard about it on the playground. If your DC heard about it via a teacher rather than another child it means their teacher was doing their job.

Well I'm pulling my kid out of the talk, smell, because our school is planning on telling them that 'momo' has caused 8 suicide worldwide, pops up in random videos and makes contact with instructions to put themselves in danger- none of which is true and I don't thank them for it.

I’m suprised they have sent you a script, but your kid up to you. They’ll hear all about the talk third hand. Which you might prefer 🤷🏻‍♀️