Squid Game Gets Warning From Schools About Danger To Kids

Squid Game is so popular that schools are starting to send notes to parents about the dangers it might put kids in who are watching

By Doug Norrie | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

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We live in a copycat society these days. It’s a sad reality of our current situation that, at times, seeing something ridiculous happen on the big or small screen can lead to impressionable people trying the same stuff out in the real world. And now, there are a bunch of schools out there begging parents to avoid having their children watch Netflix’s Squid Game because the kids are giving some of the stuff a try. It’s a sad state of affairs and begs the question about who is really to blame here. But the Manchester Evening News is reporting that some schools in the area are sending communications to parents about the potential danger in the students watching the series. It appears there are some out there who want to make their own version of the game. 

Since its release about a month ago, Squid Game has quickly become one of the most popular shows Netflix has ever produced. The show focuses on a group of folks taking part in a game show based on popular kids’ games that has the allure of a massive cash prize at the end. The issue is that if you fail to win the game or break some of the rules, then you get killed. It appears to be this second part that schools are looking to avoid. 

While there were no definitive reports of actual copycatting of Squid Game in the schools from the murder side, it does look like the communications to parents were something of a preemptive strike. The institutions were looking to nip any thought of kids playing a deadly game of Red Light/ Green Light in the bud before it happened. A valiant effort I suppose, though it’s unlikely that simple letters home to parents would be enough for a full-on blackout of the extremely popular show. In the Manchester Evening News reporting, there were multiple schools in the area that sent home letters urging parents to avoid the show and even saying there could be punishments for children engaged in replicating the events of the series. 

And if schools were worried that there could be some copycatting of Squid Game, they might not want to look over to Abu Dhabi which apparently already has its own real-life version of the game starting up right now. It doesn’t look like the contestants will face the same fate as those in the series, thank goodness, but many of the events will be recreated for a viewing audience. There is likely no putting this train back in the station considering how many folks have already watched the series. 

How popular is Squid Game right now worldwide? Well, it isn’t just “inspiration” for new reality-based games or the bane of some school disciplinary administrators. So many people watched the series that at least one internet provider had to sue Netflix because people watching the series were overloading its servers. And it is expected that when Netflix next releases its hours of subscriber viewership, the show will top the charts as the most-watched series in the first 28 days on the platform. Schools having issues with kids recreating the game might not be going away anytime soon.