Cyberbully is a television film that premiered on July 17, 2011 on ABC Family. ABC Family collaborated with Seventeen magazine to make the film, and hopes the film will "delete digital drama". The film tells the story of a teenage girl who is bullied online. The film was released on DVD on February 7, 2012.
Plot
Taylor Hillridge is a teenage girl who is being raised by her single mother, Kris, along with her younger brother, Eric, living in St. Louis, Missouri. She is close friends with two other girls, Samantha Caldone and Cheyenne Mortenson. Earlier, Taylor made a seemingly innocuous comment to one of her classmates, Lindsay Fordyce, to which Lindsay took great offense. She receives a computer for her seventeenth birthday from her mom. At first, Taylor is excited by the independence of going online without her mother always watching her. Meanwhile, her crush, Scott asks her to the dance, to which she says yes. Cheyenne is happy for her, but Samantha does not like Scott because she previously went out with his friend, who later dumped her after he had sex with her. Taylor soon finds herself the victim of cyberbullying when she becomes a member of a social website named Cliquesters. Things begin to go wrong when Taylor's brother, Eric, hacks into her account and writes "I'm a naughty girl, somebody should spank me" on her profile, having been angry at her when she refused to let him use the laptop. She condemns him for the hacking and Eric is then severely punished by Kris. Students at school write horrid comments about her and she becomes afraid to face her friends at school. Taylor also meets a guy named James online and thinks he is just being nice, but winds up spreading a rumor that Taylor slept with him and ended up giving him "the clap". Taylor gets pegged as a "slut" and "whore" as a result of the bullying. The abuse that Taylor receives from the hands of her schoolmates pushes her to a breaking point. Scott also tells Taylor that he cannot take her to the dance because of an excuse that obviously sounds made up and Cheyenne and Samantha begin to turn their backs on Taylor. Overcome with depression, Taylor posts a video online saying that she can no longer live with herself. Samantha sees this and quickly goes to Taylor's house and finds her trying to commit suicide by overdosing with pills, but cannot get the cap off; in the ensuing scuffle, the pill bottle spills on the floor, scattering pills over the bathroom floor. Taylor is then sent to a hospital. Taylor's mom learns from the incident and takes on the school system and state legislation to prevent others from going through the same problem as her daughter. Taylor's mom recommends that she go to a support group and get help. Meanwhile, Samantha finds Scott at a cafe and insults him for leaving Taylor. Taylor finds that Caleb, one of her classmates who is gay, is going through the same exact thing, only he is targeted for his sexuality. Taylor finds support in the group and deals with the bullying much better. Samantha confesses to Taylor that she was the one who created the "James" profile and set Taylor up. Samantha feels guilty and becomes a victim of cyberbullying herself. Taylor finds out about this and tells her about her support group and eventually forgives Samantha, rekindling their friendship. Samantha and Taylor return to school, where they are quickly teased by Lindsay in the cafeteria. Samantha urges Taylor to ignore her, but Taylor does the opposite and confronts Lindsay, calling her out for her online abuse. Scott, Cheyenne and Caleb appear and side with Taylor, condemning Lindsay for her bullying. Their actions are received well with other students present in the cafeteria, who spread the word about Taylor's courage and Lindsay's misdeeds, eroding Lindsay's support within the student body. Meanwhile, the state legislature passes a bill criminalizing cyberbullying, which is then signed into law in honor of Taylor and all victims of bullying.
Cast
Reception
The film received a generally positive review from Common Sense Media, who gave the film a 4 out of 5 star rating, stating "Cyberbully is a great jumping-off point for talking to teens about the very real dangers that exist online. The movie does a good job of working in most of the hot-button issues related to this topic, including the anonymity that exists online, the legal loopholes that enable cyberbullying, the social pressure on teens to partake in digital relationships, and the emotional devastation that bullying inflicts on its victims and their families." Cyberbully gained 3.4 million views on its official release date. It was TV's number one telecost for the 8-10 p.m. time slot and became the week's number one TV film, and the second most viewed TV film of the 2010 and 2011 season. The film has gained popularity in recent years through online streaming, with an unofficial upload of the film on YouTube having amassed over 79 million views.
Emily Osment released a song called "Drift" which was featured in the film. It was released on July 12, 2011. The movie also features "Breathe Me" by Sia. TV spots of the movie contain the song "Perfect" by Pink.
