Your Social Life

A Girls! Action! Media! Project. Your Social Life is a 20-minute educational docudrama about the latest issues facing youth – cyber-bullying, sexting and online abuse. Produced and written by youth for youth, the film features interviews with diverse young people at several points along the cyber-bullying spectrum: cyber-bullies, targets, allies, accessories and passive onlookers. It also offers insights from key adults working with high school students about the consequences of digital abuse often disregarded by youth until it’s too late. Using accurate information rather than fear to move viewers, Your Social Life engages with entertaining dramatizations depicting typical burn page and sexting scenarios.

00:00Copy video clip URL Intro graphics for Beyondmedia.org

00:13Copy video clip URL Testimonies of Kate, Matt, Jonathan, Jessica, Azarian, Tiffany, Ariana, and Prince who each relate the effects of cyberbullying and harassment in their schools and lives.

01:34Copy video clip URL Title sequence.

01:48Copy video clip URL Role play dramatization of a cyberbullying instance at a high school, involving retaliation through the use of a Facebook “burn page.”

05:09Copy video clip URL Ariana and Prince tell of a dispute that made its way to Ariana’s Facebook profile that resulted in a two-day suspension from school.

06:24Copy video clip URL Marcy Sorensen, a high school principle, describes how digital media can escalate conflict in schools, mobilize anger into physical action, and generate bystander attention for physical violence.

06:56Copy video clip URL Marquita describes an incident that changed the trajectory of her younger brother’s life.

08:20Copy video clip URL Sorensen tells the story of a student who was recently murdered and the revealing information the school found on his Facebook page.

08:56Copy video clip URL Michael Shields, director of safety and security for Chicago Public Schools, remarks on the changing dynamics of student interactions and relationships enabled through wider access to digital technology, communications, and its disembodied interface.

09:22Copy video clip URL Lynda shares how a cyberbully exploited her likeness on the internet during her senior year of high school. Ariel also describes an incident of cyber harassment against her, involving homophobic violence. Hector tells about his experience using social media to come out as gay during high school and the harassment he experienced online. Matt recalls how a friend’s life changed when a high school boyfriend shared out private photos.

12:38Copy video clip URL Role play dramatization of a sexting incident.

16:28Copy video clip URL Sarah Migas, Internet Safety Specialist with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, warns of the legal consequences for sexting by minors under the age of 18.

17:18Copy video clip URL Ariana, Ariel, Matt, Laurise, Tiara share lessons learned, differing perspectives on the use of social media and the internet, and ways to use technology for the benefit of others.

19:10Copy video clip URL Precautionary slides for safe internet practices.

19:55Copy video clip URL Credits.