Momo?

The Bible teaches us in Romans 12 to allow God's transformation to take place through the renewing of our minds.  And, we can read in Proverbs 4:
20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

We can be cognizant of our need to regulate what enters into our minds, recognizing that it is a battleground, where the enemy operates to draw us away from our love for God and His
truth.  There is an enormous amount of material that can be accessed via our computers and phones every single day.  Some we encounter without our choice; and we can train ourselves to reject those ideas that are contrary to the ideals of Almighty God.

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The Bible instructs us to guard our hearts - and our homes; from thoughts and philosophies that are not honoring to God. We read in Psalm 101:
2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.

The world of social media has yielded a number of so-called "challenges" throughout the years; perhaps the most famous was the Ice Bucket Challenge of a few years back to call attention to ALS. Earlier this year, you had the short-lived "Bird Box" Challenge in which people were encouraged to blindfold themselves and engage in various activities, which faced criticism by Netflix, the distributor of the film that inspired it.

Recently, there is a dangerous "challenge" that is making the rounds called the Momo Challenge, and parents need to be aware of it.  According to a piece by David Eaton of Axis.org, found on the ChristianHeadlines.com website:

It’s an online challenge that targets teens, tweens and even younger children (via snippets in YouTube Kids videos). The challenge encourages kids to contact an unknown person called Momo (represented by a sculpture of a woman with a gaunt face, bulging eyes, and creepy smile) via WhatsApp or Facebook primarily.

The Momo account then sends them violent and graphic images and texts telling them to engage in various “challenges” that start out small and strange, then escalate to harming themselves and others, possibly culminating in the final challenge of committing suicide.

In order to prove they are completing the challenges, kids are supposed to send photographic or video evidence of them completing the tasks. If they ever try to stop, the Momo account threatens to expose them and/or harm them and their loved ones.

There are conflicting opinions about the legitimacy of the "challenge," and who is actually responsible, but article points out that "Some news sources claim kids are participating in dangerous activities due to the Momo Challenge, and others claim it is a hoax being used to stir hype and fear-mongering."  In fact, the article links to a piece on The Atlantic website, which is rather adamant:

The Momo challenge wasn’t real then, and it isn’t real now. YouTube confirmed that, contrary to press reports, it hasn’t seen any evidence of videos showing or promoting the “Momo challenge” on its platform. If the videos did exist, a spokesperson for YouTube said, they would be removed instantly for violating the platform’s policies. Additionally, there have been zero corroborated reports of any child ever taking his or her own life after participating in this phony challenge.

Regardless of Momo's validity, we can know that the Internet can be a scary place for young people (and even adults!).  Eaton recommends pre-emptive action regarding the Momo Challenge, encouraging parents to ask their older children "if they or their friends have encountered it," and to "make sure they know what to do if they ever see disturbing, graphic, or harmful images or are contacted by unknown accounts."

And, this provides an opportunity to share with younger kids about action steps if they encounter something "scary or weird" online. It can also be an opportunity to evaluate Internet access, perhaps to "use parental controls and to keep screens in public places and common areas." Eaton writes, "Above all, ask God to protect your kids’ hearts and minds, to give you discernment and wisdom, and to give you the strength to be their safe haven."

And, those are some of the keys for parents.  Yes, there can be Internet hoaxes and rumors that float around and create fear, but there is enough real stuff out there to be concerned.  So, it's important that everyone considers his or her Internet usage, and parents can make sure they are involved in knowing what comes into their kids' computers and smartphones, having taken necessary precautions.

We can make protection a priority.  We are told in Scripture to guard our hearts, and even to guard our homes.  We can make the choice whether or not to allow our minds to consider ideas and images that do not line up with Scripture, and realize that parents have a tremendous responsibility for the hearts and minds of the children placed under our care.  We don't have to respond in fear, but with a confident sense of exercising God's principles.