Luke Culhane, a 13-year-old from Limerick, Ireland, fought back against abusive messages and social media posts by appearing in his own powerful video, which went viral, according to BBC news.
The two-minute, 36-second short video titled, "Cyber Bullying: Create no hate” was posted on Feb. 9, 2016 to coincide with the European Union’s Safer Internet Day. As of Feb. 24, It amassed over 250,000 views on YouTube and another 200,000 views on Facebook.
The video depicted online jibes translated into physical injuries, like a bloody nose and a black eye on Culhane, which showed that although the torment is virtual, the pain is still very real. "I understand firsthand the impact cyberbullying can have on a young person's self esteem… I wanted to show that it doesn’t have to be physical bullying to hurt someone," he told I Love Limerick newspaper.
At the end of the video, he advises victims to use the "stop, block and tell" method. “Stop” and think before posting something, imagining you are in the receiver’s shoes. “Block” messages from known bullies. “Tell” someone if you feel you are being bullied.
Princess Detoyato, a sophomore exercise and sports science major from Qatar, said cyberbullying is an immature way to hurt someone else.
“I do not have a lot of experience with cyberbullying, but I think that it is a really hurtful and childish form of bullying. Some people make a big deal out of nothing on the internet just to make fun of a person,” said Detoyato.
Detoyato added that for Luke to be bullied at such a young age is sad and unfair, but is glad that he was able to inspire others because of it.
Luke thanked his father, cousin and godfather, videographer Diarmuid Greene, and said to the Irish Examiner, "I am fortunate that I have my dad, Dermot, and my cousin to train and mentor me. I am so grateful and lucky that they are here to help.”
Luke’s aim in releasing the video was to “help raise awareness for other people about how to handle cyberbullying,” reported the Examiner.“
There will always be bullies,” said Ryan Domingo, a freshman studying accounting from The Philippines. “But I think that what Luke shared about stopping, blocking and telling is good advice for everyone,” he added.
Domingo said not replying to a negative comment and blocking the bully, and telling a trusted friend or family, can relieve the hurt and pain that the person feels. Eve Wang, a freshman studying biomedicine from China, was also saddened by the experience of Luke and said someone who is bullied has a hard time regaining confidence and a positive outlook in life.
“Even if it is not online, hearing a mean comment or gossip about you already makes you already feel horrible. Having it online would be worse because it will be there forever and for everyone to see,” shared Wang.
She said she hopes Luke’s video will motivate users to be more careful with cyberbullying and that more precautions are put up on the Internet to prevent such incidents. Luke spent over 40 hours planning, filming and editing the video in time for Safe Internet Day, because Luke felt that “Safer Internet Day” was an appropriate time to release this video to create discussion around the issue, reported I Love Limerick.