Have your say: Should we be sharing bullying videos?

07 December 2016 - 15:03 By Andre Jurgens
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Should we be sharing school bullying videos on social media?

Emma Sadleir, is co-author of “Don't Film Yourself Having Sex: And Other Legal Advice for the Age of Social Media”.

She posed the question after watching a graphic viral video of a school girl in uniform assaulting a whimpering classmate at Luckhoff High School in Stellenbosch. Rather than assisting the victim‚ pupils watched and filmed the incident.

“I actually feel sick after watching the Stellenbosch bullying video (it had a warning ‘This video may upset sensitive viewers’ - show me *anyone* not upset by the video‚ sensitive or otherwise)‚” she tweeted on Wednesday.

“I'm completely conflicted about sharing bullying videos …

“On the one hand‚ awareness is key to the fight against bullying and the evidence in the videos will likely lead to the perpetrators being punished‚” she said.

Two school pupils involved in violent bullying incidents at the same high school – both filmed and shared on social media – caused a public backlash and both perpetrators are being hauled before disciplinary hearings. One of the bullies will appear in court for assault and has been voluntarily removed from the school by her parents.

But there is another‚ deeply concerning consequence of sharing similar footage.

Sadleir pointed out in her post: “But the points raised by the #BlockTheBullying campaigners are relevant - the campaign aims to educate young people about why filming and sharing attacks on social media can be just as damaging to a child as the actual physical assault - that the child has to keep reliving the ordeal and the entire school can watch it again and again. I also worry about normalising this kind of behaviour.”

Educational psychologist Cara Blackie told TMG Digital on Tuesday that bullying was "extremely common"‚ but not often spoken about. "Our biggest problem is brushing it off. It's something that parents need to take a deeper listen to‚" said Blackie.

Should bullying videos be shared? What do you think?

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