Social Media & Bullying In Today’s Society

by Dawn Kratzer

Recently I was made aware by a friend, of a new addition to the Netflix library It was a Mock-Documentary called ‘A girl like Her.  A brief synopsis : It explores bulling in today’s world, from both points of view: the bulled and that of the bully. At first I wasn’t sure how the movie would be but by the end I was blown away and very much in tears.

The subject of ‘bullying’ has weighed heavily on my mind the last little while, and how it has changed in the last 30 ish years, since I had once been affected by it.  Now it can, and has been successful argued that, ‘bully and the bullied dynamic has always and will always be around ’so what is the big issue – it’s just part of growing up a stage we all go through, and at the end of the day it is a stage we will grow out of.  However, the reality is that even through there always has been bullies and there always will most be bullies in the future, the way bullying has changed and evolved I believe is the bigger issue at hand.

With the ever increasing easy accessibility to Texting, Facebook, Youtube, Instagram along with a whole host of other media platforms found with just a simple internet search, bullies have an easier way to reach out and attack then every before.  30 years ago bullies attacked at school, on the playground, in the class room or if the really tried in a mall or a public area.  However 99.% of the time, once the bullied individual got to the safety of their home, they were safe for or least the night or the weekend.   Sadly in today’s world, the safety of one’s home is no longer the case.  The attacks continue, often leading to extreme ways out in order to make the pain stop.
    
This is where the movie begins, six months into the process.  At the end, when all hope seemed lost.  Jessica see’s no hope takes a handful of pills and end’s up in a comma.  As the movie continues, we the audience are made aware of the bully, the ‘popular girl’ who takes her pain out on others.  As much as we are shocked by the many scenes that seem to continually get more intense.  These scenes are interjected with those from Amanda’s (the bullies) point of view.  She herself is hurting and in pain.  Her family dynamic is broken and it is clear to see that she to is stuck in a cycle she can’t get away from.
    
Near the end of the film, when Amanda is confronted with the fact that her actions may have in fact been the cause of the situation, and is shown proof, she no longer fights the fact that she is taking her pain out on others around her and actively seeks the help that is needed.
     
​The movie as a whole is a huge eye opener.  There is a one scene that really made me think.  It is a committee meeting to address the issue of bullying.  A parent stands up and say’s “We’ll never stop the bullying until we find some method to get to the bullyers. … Hurt people hurt people.”  This is true. Both sides need to be addressed in order to make a dent in an epidemic that seems to be getting worse instead of ever getting better. Hope is always there even though everything might seem dark and tough with no way out, but there is always a way out. Always.

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Dawn has never been one to fit into the mould. She is a fighter in both the figurative and literal sense. Growing up with cerebral palsy, she has had to both prove to herself and the world that she can, when it comes to just about anything in life. As well, she is a avid learner, writer and when she isn't making YouTube videos, you can find her in the jitsu jitsu gym. A true fighter, she hopes to bring this hope to others that life is worth fighting for. 

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