The authorities warn parents to look out for their children and prevent them from watching viral Huggy Wuggy TikTok videos because of their disturbing content. Though school kids are intrigued by videos, few understand their traumatic risks, especially for younger children.
According to Daily Mail, elementary school kids in Dorset in the U.K. have been copying the antics of the blue bear character based on what they've seen from the spliced Huggy Wuggy TikTok videos. However, Huggy Wuggy is a creepy killer in the horror survival video game "Poppy Playtime," created by MOB Games.
Dorset Police cyber protection officer Chris Conroy said that people have been making their own Huggy Wuggy videos, pulled from the video game, to share on various platforms, including TikTok. However, these fan-made videos present "quite graphic imagery" of the blue bear character with very sharp teeth.
A quick look at the videos might not indicate anything sinister. However, once the clips run, Huggy Wuggy encourages crushing someone with a deadly hug or utters some chilling lines like, "My teeth sharp and ready...in my grasp, yeah they're deadly."
Read Also: New California Bill Will Let Parents Sue Snapchat, TikTok, or Meta for Social Media Addiction
Mother Thought It's Harmless for Her 5-Year-Old
Mom Rhia Fearn told Daily Mirror that she initially thought the Huggy Wuggy TikTok videos were harmless for her 5-year-old son. She didn't suspect anything bad, given that the name "Huggy Wuggy" is so adorable. However, the actual video game, where the Huggy Wuggy character appears, defines him as the villain who stalks his potential victims before killing them.
Fearn was also aware that her son's schoolmates had been going crazy over the blue bear character. The mom, however, realized after checking the craze and talking to her son that he had been exposed to a level of violence not fit for his age.
"It's really frightening as a lot of parents will be oblivious," the mother said.
Another Malicious Hoax?
However, some netizens think that the Huggy Wuggy TikTok videos might be another malicious hoax. In 2019, a viral Momo Challenge on YouTube allegedly triggered fear for some parents. There were claims that the resharing of a scary altered image of a girl from the horror flick "The Ring," has led to kids committing self-harm.
YouTube had to issue a statement saying that there has been no evidence alluding to the harmful impact of the Momo Challenge, nor were the videos promoted on the platform. Nonetheless, the video-sharing site acted on the complaints and has demonetized several contents that presented the said image, per The Verge.
Conroy said that this warning comes down to letting parents know what their kids are watching on TikTok, YouTube, and Roblox because many videos "slip through the cracks." These platforms do not carry regulated media ratings typically required of movies or TV shows; hence there is no age restriction for such content.
Related Article: TikTok Gel Gun Challenge Leads to Arrest of 6 Teen Pranksters