Cyberbully - Channel 4 15.01.15

[timbo343]

I was wondering if anyone watched this last night? The OH watched it and said that it might be worth a watch for you and possibly the school - what with all the e-safety stuff which is kicking about at the moment.

 

Cyberbully - Channel 4

[abillybob]

I did with the girlfriend we thought it was very good. Thought I wouldn't recommend the school showing it children, it has a lot of naughty words in and references to suicide attempts.

[eyetea]

The Mrs wanted to watch this, dunno how we missed it as we were complaining nothing was on!!!

 

Worth a watch?

[7UD9]

I did with the girlfriend we thought it was very good. Thought I wouldn't recommend the school showing it children, it has a lot of naughty words in and references to suicide attempts.

 

Really? It's all about context and maturity.

 

Obviously don't show it to Year 4s but 9, 10 & 11 would be fine. You're not doing anyone any favours by hiding them from things like this, that's where the problems stem from.

[abillybob]

Really? It's all about context and maturity.

 

Obviously don't show it to Year 4s but 9, 10 & 11 would be fine. You're not doing anyone any favours by hiding them from things like this, that's where the problems stem from.

 

Hmmm year 9 might be a bit young but maybe 10 onwards. You have to bear in mind the programme aired after 9pm which is classed as "Watershed TV time" TV after this time is aimed at adults. Which this clearly was, the abuse, language, death threats, blackmail, sexual blackmail and suicidal references I wouldn't deem suitable for children under 16.

I don't understand why children would gain any knowledge from this and what it would teach them either, the whole concept of the film isn't a regular e-safety concern either, how many people do you know of have had their personal computer hacked and the hacker has overtook all control of their computer and told them to kill themselves by overdosing. It's a film not a documentary, they won't learn hardly anything from watching it in a real world perspective. I'd be all for it if it was a documentary and was based on factual events I would agree with you but in this instance I'm not hiding anything from the kids because it's not factual.

 

You can do what you like in your school and to your students don't get me wrong and I'm not telling you otherwise I'm just advising people what it's about, we're not all secondary schools either remember, a primary school teacher could have just as easily picked this up and not thought twice about showing it their children which is definitely not appropriate for.

Edited January 16, 2015 by abillybob

[Ant]

I don't understand why children would gain any knowledge from this and what it would teach them either, the whole concept of the film isn't a regular e-safety concern either, how many people do you know of have had their personal computer hacked and the hacker has overtook all control of their computer and told them to kill themselves by overdosing. It's a film not a documentary, they won't learn hardly anything from watching it in a real world perspective. I'd be all for it if it was a documentary and was based on factual events I would agree with you but in this instance I'm not hiding anything from the kids because it's not factual.

 

I agree the idea of someone's computer and all their online accounts being taken over by a hacker in a way presented in the film is a little far fetched for the sort of day to day issues teenagers/people have, but in my opinion that's not what this film was about, it was deeper than that.

 

I believe the scenarios that were highlighted while interacting with the 'hacker' such as the trolling, hiding behind anonymity, nude 'selfies', suicides etc is very much what happens in the real world. This is what I thought the film highlighted brilliantly. Ok, it was a little predictable at times, but they were real issues that real people have.

 

Of course, this also was being condensed into an hour meaning some of the content was perhaps exaggerated, but it happens in real life, just not in an hour.

 

I wouldn't hesitate suggesting this for older secondary school aged children. The swearing, content etc, will be nothing they haven't heard or seen before.

[Gibson335]

I agree the idea of someone's computer and all their online accounts being taken over by a hacker in a way presented in the film is a little far fetched for the sort of day to day issues teenagers/people have, but in my opinion that's not what this film was about, it was deeper than that.

 

I believe the scenarios that were highlighted while interacting with the 'hacker' such as the trolling, hiding behind anonymity, nude 'selfies', suicides etc is very much what happens in the real world. This is what I thought the film highlighted brilliantly. Ok, it was a little predictable at times, but they were real issues that real people have.

 

Of course, this also was being condensed into an hour meaning some of the content was perhaps exaggerated, but it happens in real life, just not in an hour.

 

I wouldn't hesitate suggesting this for older secondary school aged children. The swearing, content etc, will be nothing they haven't heard or seen before.

 

Yes, whilst it squeezed in too much for a single session, perhaps, it did provide food for thought as to how trolling potentially impacts on people's lives, and how selfies and the like have to be approached with caution. The neat trick was in showing that the girl, who considered herself purely a victim, was actually guilty of being an on-line bully herself...something I imagine happens quite a lot.

[TechMonkey]

We started watching it and then my other half got scared so we had to change over.

[Sylv3r]

I thought it was very good. An IT Teacher and the Head of PSHE asked us if we record it at the start of the week, but I'll have to have a word as to what purpose they were going to use it as the audience will have to be probably our sixth form only.

[IrritableTech]

I was worried to start with that it was going to be a cheesy. In the end, I thought it was very very well done.

 

Yes the messenger app text was a little unrealistic, the voice was a slight stretch, but it was needed to make the programme easier to watch (text and one person talking would not have been as enthralling). However those aside I found Cyberbully very powerful.

 

Ratting (using malware to take over a 'slave' pc and accessing the webcam) is a known issue. It seems to be on the increase and techniques are getting more advanced. Ratters have techniques to turn off the LED on many webcam models and have and do take stills and videos of their victims and share between themselves and the wider world. Most would not inform their victim they were doing such a thing though, and quietly collect footage. A very concerning trend.

 

Watching the program I could see a number of cases over the last year or two which they had used for inspiration. They covered a great deal of eSafety topics in such a short time I think this could be a very useful program for schools.

 

The issue of some language and themes is a difficult one. We all know that most of the pupils in high school have unfortunately heard (if not used) the level of language used in the programme - and worse. Without some language, the programme would not have seemed as realistic as it did to me. The themes included have actually happen to real young people in this country and abroad. There's no getting away from that fact. Cyberbullying, anonymous trolling, self harm, suicide, self-trolling, naked selfies, revenge porn are real issues happening to young people in this country (thankfully still fairly rare) and I for one think children and young people need to think about how their actions affect others.

 

What age is Cyberbully suitable for? The million dollar question. It's likely that one class of year nines may be more mature than another class of year ten. I don't think we should necessarily suggest one age or another. Parents and teachers know their pupils best.

 

I'd be interested to get senior leader backing and then ask for parental feedback as to whether they'd be happy for the school to show the programme within PHSE or a longer course around eSafety. Cyberbully was full of important themes which could help safeguard young people.

[bossman]

I too had the Head of ICT e-mail me to ask if I would check it out as she couldn't seem to find it so she could show it to year 9 and above, I went to channel 4 OD online and found it straight away, it had the parental control warning not suitable for under 16s so that may mean she cannot show it, I did point it out to her in a return e-mail and to cover myself CC'd my line manager in with it.

[Dkeen94]

I will be passing this program onto our SLT and DCPC to view. I watched it today and found it extremely powerful and well produced! We are keen to reinforce e-safety in school and something like this would be perfect to show the kids at our school.