Children as young as five have imitated videos of the viral animated character, which is a blue bear named “Huggy Wuggy” with sharp, pointy teeth. The character originally appeared as a villain in the horror video game “Poppy Playtime,” released last year.
But the scary blue bear is now lurking in new online spaces on TikTok and YouTube, accessible to kids just starting grade school.
A spokesperson described the deformed teddy bear figure as having “long arms and rows of razor-sharp teeth”.
They added: “Set in an abandoned toy factory, Huggy is a game villain who stalks players from the vents which are inaccessible places.
“Videos of the game are available to watch on YouTube, along with other clips dedicated to Huggy in song.
“One song includes the lyrics ‘I could kiss you here forever, until you breathe your last breath together.
Videos like these, taking inspiration from the gruesome character, have appeared on social media like TikTok and can often slip through online age filters to reach the eyes of very young children.
Chris Conroy, cyber protection officer for Dorset Police, said: “If you were even using YouTube for kids, for example, that might pass because there’s nothing overtly sinister about a video’s name.
“It really comes down to being careful [to] what your kids are doing and making sure they don’t just trust YouTube Kids videos are safe because unfortunately with videos like this things fall through the cracks.”
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He told Dorset Live: ‘It’s based on fears of jumps and things you definitely wouldn’t want children exposed to.
The ripple effect is the creepy play’s appearance in school settings, where children will mimic the character’s “spinal-crushing hug” to whisper threats into each other’s ears.
Rhia Fearn, who is mother to five-year-old Harrison, described how she first thought Huggy Wuggy was harmless before young Harrison told his mother that Huggy Wuggy is ‘a bad guy and he kills people’ .
The Derbyshire mother-of-two added: “He said the kids at school were talking about it and a friend of his was watching him. We were out shopping this weekend and he spotted a boy with the teddy bear and he said “it’s Huggy Wuggy, look, mom.
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“It was my first look at Huggy Wuggy’s physique and it made me ask a few more questions about him.
“He told me that Huggy Wuggy kills everyone he meets and he’s not nice, he’s a mean guy and he’s very mean.”
She said the character “slid under my radar as a parent and infiltrated my child’s mind without me even realizing it”, before warning other parents against taking it. to be “unaware of the level of violence to which our children are exposed”.
Another worried parent likened the trend to earlier viral sensations that could traumatize children not old enough to be prepared for such material.
They said: “All the kids are talking about it and showing each other these videos, it’s become a bit of a craze and it’s getting really popular.
“It’s extremely concerning because this character is truly sinister and downright terrifying. It’s almost becoming the online version of this Killer Clown craze.”
In 2016, police across the UK began issuing fines to those who dressed up as intimidating clowns to scare passers-by in a trend that started in the US before briefly taking the UK by storm. .
Additional reporting by Neil Shaw and Phoebe Jobling.
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-04-04 16:14:00
