Some Long Island school districts have picked up on the recent frenzy around the purported "Momo Challenge" and are sending information to parents about the issue.
"While there are ... reports that the threat of the Momo Challenge may be overstated, we felt it important to make you aware of it," reads an email sent yesterday to parents and staff in the Half Hollow Hills School District. "Additionally, given the growing national media coverage of the Momo Challenge, experts on mental health caution that such hysterical news coverage could potentially prove harmful, possibly even inspiring imitators. It can also cause some students to be fearful or anxious."
The purported Momo Challenge features a creepy woman with stringy hair and bulging eyes who allegedly pops up during children's programming on YouTube and encourages them to contact her on WhatsApp. Then she urges them to complete increasingly harmful challenges that may end with committing suicide. Alarmed parents have been spreading the word on Long Island Facebook parenting pages.
