The video showing a teen named Sharkeisha beating and kicking another girl is still getting heavy play on social media sites a week later, but anti-bullying groups and others have condemned it.
The video was uploaded to Instagram last week and it stayed there for 22 hours before it was removed. It has since been uploaded to YouTube and is frequently mentioned on Twitter and Facebook.
The Anti-Bullying Alliance condemned the video.
“It is important that young people, the media industry, government and parents work together to make young people feel protected when online,” the group’s Luke Roberts told the International Business Times. “It is important to remind young people that the information that they put online is permanent and difficult to take down,” he added.
“Young people don’t seem to comprehend that what you do at 14 might affect you when you are 19 looking for a job.”
Kidscape director of services Peter Bradley told the paper that “these actions illustrate the thousands of young people who have taken a part in an attack on an innocent young woman and the images posted on the internet.”
“The appalling footage should have been taken down from Instagram immediately. However, due to the website’s moderators being too slow to respond, the horrific footage went viral immediately. As it was also liked by thousands of people over a period of hours, it spread across the globe like wildfire,” he added.
The victim, Shamichael Manuel, told KHOU several days ago that Sharkeisha used to be her friend before the incident, saying that she was invited over after school. But later, Sharkeisha then allegedly punches her in the face before kicking and punching her on the ground.
On Twitter as of Thursday, users were still talking about it. The term “Sharkeisha” has been used as a verb to apparently punch or attack someone or something.
“Im bout to Sharkeisha my laptop if blackboard doesn’t work in the next hour,” wrote one user.
Demetria L. Lucas, an editor with the Root, denounced the apparent glorification of the violence in the video on Twitter and Facebook.
“This isn’t funny. At all. It’s a vulgar display of violence, a tragic depiction of someone who lacks anger management and humanity and a shocking example of just how wayward some teens are. Sharkeisha’s reaction to a petty dispute over, likely, a boy who didn’t care about either of these girls is a clear-cut case of assault. This isn’t entertainment to get through the workday. The way that girl was kicked in the face could have resulted in her death,” she writes.
A portion of the Instagram video can be viewed here (WARNING).
