Yesterday, a video took over our Facebook and Twitter feeds- a video of a young girl, Carly Menton, in Ray’s Pizza Parlour in Temple Bar, raving about how her Daddy works for KPMG.
The video has dominated social media after it came to light mid-afternoon. The girl in the video is young, blonde and heavily coated in fake tan and makeup.
She is loud, and intoxicated and is seen slagging off the person who is videotaping her, while using abusive language. The words ‘loser’ and ‘KPMG’ are thrown around as the girl continues with her drunken antics and continues to insult him as well as other people who earn a low wage, as her Dad is apparently the highest earning partner of KPMG. At one point, she refers to the onlooker as a ‘pleb’.
She is a teenager who has had too much to drink and is unaware she is being filmed until the end, when her friend tells her. She then knocks the recording device to the ground.
The video has been removed from Youtube, but it is still in circulation amongst other sites, and is gaining worldwide responses on Live Leak. The girl in question has said to have deleted her Facebook account following a backlash of hateful and hurtful comments. This is one of the many forms of cyber-bullying, as someone is being subjected to internet haters. Hashtags such as #KPMG and #carlymenton were also seen trending on Twitter.
Memes have already begun to circulate about the video
The past few months have seen cyber-bullying come to the forefront of media attention. The tragic suicide of Erin Gallagher (13), on October 27 shocked the nation. Her sister Shannon Gallagher (15), took her own life on December 12. While the reason for Shannon’s suicide is unknown, Erin’s has been said to have been a result of cyber-bullying. Days before her death, she lashed out online at cyber bullies. Erin’s grandfather has spoken out and has said that teachers and parents need be more educated on how to handle and deal with bullying and abuse.
Cyber-bullying escalates extremely quickly and the damage it does can be irreparable. The impact it has on the victims involved can be, as we have seen, fatal.
In 2010, Phoebe Price committed suicide as a result of bullying. Price moved to Ireland when she was two years old and moved to America in the Autumn of 2009. She was 15 years old when she took her own life on January 14, 2012. Her case gripped the headlines worldwide, as it was the first high profile case of extreme bullying. A state anti-bullying task force was set up as a result of her death in March, 2012. The Massachusetts legislation was signed into law on May 3 of the same year. It is a tragedy that bullying, and in particular cyber-bullying has resulted in this.
The development of technology and social media has made it easier and more accessible for cyber bullying to occur. It is a catalyst, if you will. Facebook and Twitter, both popular social media outlets have played host to cyber-bullying. Phones are also guilty of it. The video taping application on many phones, while small, enables the user to video tape and upload to their computer, in turn uploading it to the internet, where chaos can ensue.
The KPMG video is not set to cause harm or offend, yet the backlash will inevitably do just that. We need to be careful online. The actions of one can impact on many. Digital media has reached dizzy heights. It is ever-expanding and developing.
If you feel that you have been a victim of online bullying, or indeed bullying in general, or just need someone to talk to, please go to one of the many help sites, such as spunout.ie or headsup.ie.