‘There’s no way to solve it’: School fight videos spread on social media

The proliferation of bullying and battle pages comes as trainees continue to have problem with psychological health and behavioral problems following the COVID-19 pandemic after returning to schools following a year of online learning.( Illustration by Severiano del Castillo Galvãn).
Durango High School junior Malia Poblete was off school last month when a battle broke out at her school.

Less than five minutes later, the 17-year-old saw a video of the occurrence on Instagram.

" Students are really quick to publish that sort of thing," she said.

Throughout the Las Vegas Valley, dozens of social media accounts created by trainees are utilized to share videos of on-campus fights or to bully schoolmates and school staff members. The majority are on Instagram, however some accounts exist on other platforms, such as Twitter and TikTok.

A number of the posts are highly troubling, and victims are easily recognizable.

A few of the videos show battles that appear to be staged, while others reveal trainees being injured. One video showed a trainee being dragged throughout the floor of a school cafeteria with blood on his t-shirt and on the floor. Another reveals a lady pulling another girl off a sidewalk and ripping her sweatshirt off while punching her repeatedly in the head. Other accounts highlight photos of kids, with captions buffooning or belittling their physical look.

There's little moms and dads can do beyond reporting pages to the social media platform - - which may or may not remove them - - or reporting the bullying occurrence to their child's school, other than for when someone is making a risk that can be forwarded to authorities.

The proliferation of bullying and battle pages comes as trainees continue to deal with psychological health and behavioral issues following the COVID-19 pandemic - - particularly after returning to schools in spring 2021 following a year of online learning.

Due to privacy laws, personal social networks usage is not kept track of by the Clark County School District.

Two parents told the Las Vegas Review-Journal they wanted to discuss the concern however didn't feel comfortable utilizing their complete names out of worry that their child might be targeted.

In January, in reaction to a Review-Journal questions about one Instagram account, the Clark County School District stated school administrators understood the page and had actually reported it to the social networks platform.

" Due to personal privacy laws, personal social media use is not kept track of by the Clark County School District," the district said in a statement. "Accounts that seem managed by a CCSD trainee or with intent to threaten or trigger harm to a school or individual are reported to the appropriate social media channel to investigate for elimination.".

Social media risks against the security of a school, trainees or personnel are taken seriously and reported to the Clark County School District Police Department, according to the declaration.

"all reported allegations of bullying, including cyberbullying, are examined and appropriate action is taken," the district stated.

Lots of households feel like there's no outlet to deal with issues if social media posts occur outside the school and they do not know who owns the account, according to Rebecca Garcia, an administrator for the "CCSD Parents" Facebook group.

" It ends up being a concern where it feels like there's no way to solve it," she stated.

Numerous accounts for some schools.

Becker Middle School in Summerlin has at least 7 active bullying or battle video pages on Instagram, one of the most of any district intermediate school, according to a Review-Journal analysis.

It's followed closely by Cashman Middle School with six, Findlay and Woodbury intermediate schools with five each, and Silvestri Junior High School STEAM Academy, Molasky Junior High School and Faiss Middle School with four each.

Bonanza and Western high schools each have 3 accounts, while four pages exist for West Preparatory Academy At Charles I. West Hall, which serves trainees in elementary through high school, according to the Review-Journal's analysis.

Because of the acts of violence against children, the Review-Journal isn't recognizing accounts by name. Many of the accounts are public, suggesting anybody can see the content and find.

Nationwide effects.
In New Jersey, 14-year-old Adriana Kuch died by suicide in February after she was assaulted at her high school and a video was posted on social media. 4 teenagers have been charged in connection with the school and the attack district superintendent has actually resigned.

Nationwide, a growing number of school districts-- including in Seattle; San Mateo County, California; and Chatham, New Jersey-- have taken legal action against social networks platforms, alleging they've had damaging results on student psychological health.

In response to a Las Vegas Review-Journal query about whether it had actually filed any suits versus social networks platforms, the Clark County School District stated it was evaluating all of its alternatives.

Utah just recently enacted a new law, which enters into result next year, that needs juveniles to have parental grant use social networks websites. The legislation likewise requires age confirmation of Utah users, and it prohibits those younger than 18 from utilizing social media platforms throughout over night hours.

Members of Nevada's congressional delegation-- Reps. Mark Amodei, Steven Horsford, Susie Lee and Dina Titus, and Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen-- did not respond to requests for comment about the social networks pages. Assemblywoman Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod and state Sen. Roberta Lange, who chair the Nevada Legislature's committees on education, also might not be grabbed comment.

Poblete, the Durango High junior, stated she does not believe social media accounts used for cyberbullying are as prominent as those featuring school battle videos.

Accounts with school battle videos seem to be a newer trend, and the types of big fights that are recorded do not take place too often, she said, noting she's fortunate enough that she hasn't seen them in person.

However, Poblete stated, videos of battles spread quickly.

Little option for moms and dads.

The school district stated in a statement that it asks for neighborhood members to report pages to the proper social media channels.

But after the Review-Journal reported a Twitter account dedicated to sharing fight videos from Foothill High School in Henderson, it received a response on Feb. 24 stating the account hadn't broken the site's safety policies.

" We understand this isn't the response you're trying to find," Twitter stated in its reaction. "If this account breaks our policies in the future, we'll alert you.".

Parents and students are also motivated to report bullying and other security matters through SafeVoice Nevada, the state's anonymous reporting hotline, the district stated in its statement. Parents are urged to talk with their kids about accountable social media usage and to carefully monitor their children's represent unsuitable conduct.

But social media accounts are regularly run by trainees, which leads to the question of who's handling their online access, Garcia stated, noting it's the responsibility of moms and dads to do so.

Many parents have children who have experienced social media bullying more broadly, although not straight from among the school-specific bullying accounts, she said.

A school does not constantly have what a moms and dad feels is an appropriate action on school, Garcia stated, so moms and dads are delegated look for a various school for their child, move them to an online school or pursue homeschooling.

When that takes place mid-year, it becomes more difficult to change schools no matter why, she stated, no matter just how much paperwork of bullying is supplied.

Garcia likewise said stress and anxiety and tension arising from bullying affect presence - - a concern for many households.

Jessica Shearin, president of the Nevada Association of School Psychologists, encourages parents to limit, keep track of and monitor their child's social media use as much as possible.

It may feel intrusive, however social media use can have some "pretty unfavorable effects" on child advancement and psychological health, according to Shearin, a school psychologist at two district primary schools.

" We're still discovering the effects that maturing on social media can have on kids," she stated.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter. Review-Journal staff Taylor Lane, Jessica Hill, Taylor Avery, Jennifer Hurtado and Brett Steidler contributed to this report.