How to Protect Your Children from Momo – it’s simpler than you think.

(Featured photo by Patricia Prudente on Unsplash)

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Today, my 10 year  old daughter, who suffers from an anxiety disorder, had a panic attack at school and had to be picked up.  I found out from her, after I got her home, that the thing that had triggered her was a classmate warning her about Momo.  The classmate  told her that Momo is  on the  internet making kids kill themselves.  And that there are bad videos on YouTube and they can make you kill yourself too.   And the classmate tried to show her a picture of Momo, but she was too afraid to look.

My daughter is no  longer afraid of Momo, and I am not afraid of Momo hurting my daughter.  I will tell you how I did that.  But first let me tell you why Momo is a danger in the first place.

In recent weeks, we have all seen articles, frantic Facebook posts, and television coverage of the resurgence of “the Momo challenge”- a dangerous internet trend that allegedly encourages  children to mischief, self-harm, and even suicide.

The internet is a dangerous place, and it is important to be aware of what is on it,  and why, and how your children interact with it.  However, the way we talk about it, and educate our children about it, and share news about it, directly influences the  effectiveness of internet dangers like Momo.

Remember that whether or not you talk to your kids about Momo, they are talking to each other.  And this is what they hear and see:

1. They hear the legend.  They hear this first and most frequently because it’s the spookiest, and therefore juiciest, news to spread.  They hear that Momo is an evil spirit on the internet, and that if you message her she will  give you instructions, and if you do not follow the instructions, she will come to your house and kill your family.  And then Momo  instructs you to do bad things, or to self-harm.  This story is almost always punctuated with a hastily flashed image of the “Momo” profile picture on a cell phone or tablet.  It is corroborated with news stories, headlines, or rumors about real kids who  have killed themselves because of Momo.
2. They hear that Momo has hidden dangerous videos on YouTube that  make kids kill themselves.  This often gets boiled down to the simpler and scarier “don’t watch YouTube Kids, there’s evil spirits on it that can kill you!”
3. They see us. They see headlines and facebook posts and TV news spots.  They see parents showing their six year olds pictures of the “Momo” face, asking “have you seen this?” then freaking out when the child answers “yes.”  They see that their parents are scared, and society is scared.
4. They hear warnings, from their parents and others.  Don’t talk to anyone on the internet, they can hurt you!  Don’t go on YouTube by yourself–or at all!  In fact, don’t use the internet! It’s  dangerous!

Put yourself in a child’s shoes.   If the list above is all you know, what conclusion will you draw?

That there are demons, and dangers, and things you can’t protect yourself from, all over the internet, and  you know it’s  real because all the grown-ups are scared too.

Now put yourself in an internet predator’s shoes.  You know exactly what children are afraid of.  You know that if they’re on the internet, it’s not because they haven’t  heard about this, it’s because they don’t think it’s  going to happen to them.  If you tell a child on the  internet, “I am Momo, I can see you, I will come to your house and kill your family unless you do exactly as I say,” and you pair  it with the now-familiar Momo profile picture, THEY WILL DO WHATEVER YOU WANT.   They’ll agree not to tell anyone they’re talking to you.  They will give up personal information.   They will  send you pictures.

They are primed.

Because we are priming them.

There is danger on the internet.  There are predators who would prey upon the innocence our children. There is reason to be wary.   But there are also dangers in shopping malls, and airports, and playgrounds and after-school clubs and public places and private parties and anywhere there are people. This danger is no different from any of those.  It’s just newer, and bigger, and we understand it less.

And that’s the key.

The internet is the world’s largest public place.  And nearly as unavoidable.  You can place limits, and take away devices, and install filter aps.   But your first and most  powerful line of defense is COMPREHENSION.

Whenever the news starts reporting a new and dangerous internet trend  or YouTube challenge or child-targeting scam, don’t  just “share.”

Study.

Investigate.  Fact-check.  Find out exactly how the scam works.  Find out exactly who is doing it, and how, and  why, and to what end.  Read articles from multiple sources.  Draw your own conclusions.

Once you understand the scam,  explain it to your children.  All of it.  In clear, simple, specific detail.

A  SCAMMER CANNOT HURT YOU IF YOU KNOW YOU’RE BEING SCAMMED.

Don’t tell your children that the  internet is a danger they cannot protect against, because  it isn’t.  Tell your children that people are a danger, and that dangerous people might try to use the internet to trick you.  But you can stop them.

You are not powerless.  There are no demons, no ghosts, and no black magic on your devices.  There is bad information and good information.  Bad people and good people.  Bad videos and good videos.

You can tell the difference.  You have the power to protect yourself.

Here is exactly what I told my daughter:

• Momo is not a demon, a monster, or a ghost.  It is an idea that people use to trick each other–people, not  demons, not magic–and it’s been around for a really long time.  And people can’t trick you if you understand the trick.
• The picture called “Momo” is not of a person.  I am going to show you the whole, uncropped picture.  Before I show you, I want to warn you that it is scary looking.   But it is just a statue.  It was never alive.   It is a sculpture called “mother bird” made by a Japanese artist.  The artist has nothing to do with Momo and did not make the sculpture to be used this way.  Someone just  saw it on the internet, thought it was creepy (because it is), and decided to use it for this story.  This is a picture of the whole statue.
• There are two separate issues people are talking about.  One is the Momo challenge, where kids dare each other to message “Momo” on snapchat or another messaging ap, and Momo threatens them and tells them to do bad things.  Remember that every account is owned by a person.  A person, not a ghost or an evil spirit or a demon.  Anyone can make an account and call it Momo.  Anyone can get this picture.  But they aren’t any different from any other person on the  internet, and everything you already know about internet safety can protect you from Momo too.
• No one, whether they call themselves Momo or Joe or Bozo the Clown, can know who you are or how old you are or where you live or where you go to school IF YOU DON’T CONNECT WITH THEM.  Momo is just a bunch of different people on the internet.  None of them are magical or mysterious or supernatural.  So don’t message  “Momo” or anyone else you don’t know, because you already know not to message with strangers.  Don’t give out personal information.  And don’t ever be afraid to tell a grown-up if something or someone scares you.  Even if they threaten you.  ESPECIALLY if they threaten you.    Remember that the threats are empty.  A person on the internet can only see what you show them.  They can only hear what you tell them.  They can only take what you give them.  That’s why they try to trick you, instead of just showing up and taking what they want.  They CAN’T just show up.  They can’t hurt you.  You have the power.
• The other thing people are talking about is inappropriate content on YouTube.  Honey, it’s YouTube.  There are sick people out there, and they post sick things.  Sometimes they hide inappropriate things in videos for kids.  This has been happening  as long as there has been a YouTube.  YouTube Kids has filters and safeguards and works really hard to catch the bad videos, but that doesn’t mean they catch them all.  It’s safer to watch videos in other places.  But if you DO watch YouTube, YOU STILL HAVE THE POWER.
• Remember that videos can’t make you do bad things, and they can’t do bad things to you.  You are smart.  If you see something you don’t think you’re supposed to be watching, stop watching it.  Tell a grown-up.  Report it to YouTube.  If someone on YouTube tells you to do something you know is wrong, don’t do it.  Stop watching.  Tell a grown-up.  Report it to YouTube.  If someone on YouTube says they can hurt you, don’t believe them.  Remember that a video can’t hurt you or make you hurt yourself.   A video can’t make choices for you.  If a video scares you, you can turn it off.   There is nothing magical on YouTube.  YouTube cannot see you and it cannot touch you, even if someone in a video says they can.  It’s a trick.  Don’t fall for it.  You have the power.

So, to my fellow parents…at the end of the day, it’s your choice how much you allow your children to access the internet, and how much you police their activity, what aps you allow them use, and what videos you let them watch.  That is for every parent to decide for themselves.

But someday, it will be THEIR choice.  Someday, they’ll have to navigate the world on their own.  And if all they  know is that it’s scary, the world will use their fear against them.

Dangerous is not the same as scary.

Teach your kids to be cautious, not afraid.  Informed, not ignorant.  Questioning, not accepting.  Savvy and unscammable.  Ready.

You have the power.

******EDITED TO ADD******

Oh, my word.

When I first wrote this post and shared it on a few local mom’s groups, I never, ever, anticipated that it would have this kind of reach.  I wrote it to help a few frightened parents calm frightened children, and to remind everyone to fact check, share information responsibly, and practice common-sense internet safety.  But with the information in THIS post being spread so widely, so quickly,  I feel compelled to make it more complete.

1). I never stated explicitly in this article that Momo is a hoax, even though I am confident that it is one.  It wasn’t my intention to put myself forward as an internet expert or fact-checker, because I am neither of those things.  I’m just a mom with a search engine and a healthy sense of skepticism.  However, it bears saying: this is, in fact, a hoax.  One commenter said it so much more thoroughly, clearly, and eloquently than I could that I would like to simply quote her verbatim here (for those of you who don’t scroll all the way down the comments section):

There aren’t actually a bunch of malicious accounts or videos talking to kids in this particular case. The picture and general info are being plastered all over the internet right now on trashy news outlets, parent groups and clickbait youtube videos. The stories are developing organically amongst kids in because of the media saturation, in the same way we would tell “Bloody Mary” stories back in the day to scare each other. While its possible that malicious people could take advantage, there is currently no sign that they have, either this time or when this cropped up a year ago. The real purpose is to get clicks and views, so the people spreading it have reason to feed stories of ‘real experiences’ into the mix because the longer it is at the top of the news cycle, the more money they make. -rrilltraeErin

2). I told my daughter that people on the internet can only take what you give them, which is why they have to trick you.  However, I  DO know–and several commenters have pointed out–that no, that’s not entirely true.  People on the internet can absolutely farm hidden information or pick up subtle clues beyond what you deliberately choose to share.  I felt that was  counter to the point I was trying to make for my daughter (if someone threatens you, they’re lying, and it’s okay to tell).  However, I made some key omissions in order to present that message on her level.  If you want to educate yourself and your children more thoroughly about internet safety–which I highly encourage!–I am not an expert resource.   But there are plenty of expert resources out there, and I highly recommend availing yourself of them.  This is a popular one.

And finally….

3).  A lesson in the power of the “share” button.

I  want you to  know that I am a complete unknown.    Prior to this post, this blog had been inactive for four years.  When  it WAS active, it had 1000 views, total.  Lifetime.  That’s it.  I am not a news outlet or  a paid expert or a social media influencer or even (before today) a popular blogger.

I wrote this post mostly for the parents in my school district, because I knew we were all going through the same thing.  I banged it out in about an hour and shared it to three local mom’s groups.

That’s  it.  Three.  Local.   Groups.

Within 24 hours, it had been viewed over 100,000 times, and in countries across the globe.  14K views in Mexico. 4K in Canada.  3K in Australia. 2K in South Africa. 1.5K in the United Kingdom. One guy read it in Ethiopia, guys. Ethiopia.

The momentum hasn’t stopped.  It’s still spreading at that rate. This morning, a person I’ve never met,  who lives halfway around the world  from me, wrote an article about my blog post.  This post has officially gone viral and my head is spinning.  I’m shocked and humbled and more than a little overwhelmed.

But do you know WHY this post went viral?

I mean, sure, because it’s good, I hope. But I like to think I’ve written lots of good things, and this never happened to any of them and will probably never happen again.  (I mean, maybe?  You guys like me now, right? **bats eyes**)

This happened because my blog post addressed a buzzword everyone was afraid of.  And that is exactly how internet scares and hoaxes like Momo gain traction in the first place.

THIS is why it is so, so, so, SO very important that you really think about each and every post you hit “share” on.

A couple of thousand local moms made this post go viral in less than a day, just by hitting the “share” button.  It happened by accident.  We didn’t know we were doing it. We didn’t know we COULD do it. And that’s terrifying and wonderful and powerful all at the same time.

Think about what else you’ve hit the “share” button on this week.  Realize that everything you share has the potential  to reach hundreds of thousands of people within HOURS, simply because you shared it.  Without your captions or context.  It’s just out there.  And once you let it go, you have no control over where it lands.

Please, know how much power you have.

Use it wisely.

And thank you.