Movie #958 ........................."Cyberbully"

Movie #958 "Cyberbully" should be on a list of films that teenagers would get so much out of watching.  And if they could watch with their parents (or at least parents would see it, too) that would make it even better.  Oh yes, the film is full of teen angst, and there are cliched moments, but it speaks directly to the issue of teen bullying, the importance our teens put on their "social" identity, how fickle teens can be to each other, just how important the boy/girl relationship is to our teens.  We sometimes forget some of these issues, and we adults think:  why don't they just close the computer and get off of Facebook for a time period if they feel they are being bullied..........but it is not that easy  to teens.  When they hit that age, they tend to replace their parents' importance with their friends, and that leaves them out in that cruel world with very little protection.  As a teacher, I would see that time and time again, and to be honest, it's one of the reasons why I didn't choose to be a parent myself.  I didn't think I coiuld get through those teen years.....so any help we as a society can give parents, to me, is important. That brings me back to the film.  I feel it could be a useful tool to keep the doors of communication open between parents and kids, and that's what it is all about.  So, I recommend this film to anyone interested in the subject, but mostly to kids and their parents.  It is really well done --- the kids in it are very real (and one went to school in Naperville).