What happens when you swap celebrities with regular children in Jimmy Kimmel's popular video series "Mean Tweets"? The results are far from funny.
That's the point a Toronto-based non-profit group is trying to get across in their new campaign "Kids Reads Mean Tweets" that was launched earlier this week.
In the video, children are shown reading unkind and sometimes nasty tweets about themselves. A laugh track is cued up after each message, however, as the video continues, the laughter fades. The format of the video borrows from Kimmel's popular segment "Mean Tweets" that feature mostly Hollywood celebrities.
"We wanted to use the 'Mean Tweets' model because in a way, those videos give the message that cyberbylling is OK -- even funny," president of the Canadian Safe School Network, Stu Auty, said in a blog post this week. "But adult celebrities have the maturity and confidence to overcome these hurtful words. Children don't. For regular kids, words can cut like a knife."
According to the CSSN, approximately 14 per cent of Canadian teens have seen mean or inappropriate comments about themselves on social networks. The non-profit group adds that more than 30 per cent of parents say they know a child in their community who has experienced cyberbullying.
"From these stats, it's clear children are reluctant to admit to being bullied," Auty said. "It's time to take away the stigma, get people talking, and eliminate this problem once and for all."
The "Kids Read Mean Tweets" video -- which was made with the help of Toronto advertising agency john st. and more than 40 young actors -- is part of a crowdfunding campaign to raise $10,000 to help spread CSSN's message about cyberbullying. The campaign ends April 10.
