Nothing crueler than high school students: The cyberbully in film and television

Abstract

The Internet as a fearful place is a theme apparent in numerous film and television presentations whereby fears and anxieties about new technology are exploited and new ethical challenges are mounted. The idea that the Internet can make a person, particularly a young person, vulnerable has much traction on screen: in the context of bullying, narratives frequently demonstrate that while it was once restricted to the parameters of school-the school grounds and the school day-the Internet enables such behavior to happen at any time and for it to occur repeatedly with an infinite audience. Anybody with Internet access-be it via their laptop or smartphone-can be bullied; equally, anyone with acce..