Did you know that approximately 160,000 children purposefully attempt to avoid going to school due to being bullied? In fact, around 28% of schooling kids between the ages of twelve and eighteen report having to deal with bullying – and that’s just the cases where the children in question do talk about it at all.
Sick of these statistics, Matthew Bandeira from YouTube channel MattTV decided to set up a social experiment to raise awareness for this subject.
When he heard about the bullying of Keaton Jones, he decided it was time to step up and set up a scene involving a young boy with a soccer ball and three older children, the latter of which would act as bullies.
The situation was simple – the young boy would be minding his own business and playing ball, and the three older kids would come up to him and take the soccer ball from him, refusing to give it back when asked. The scenario was set up three times with three different adults. How do you think they reacted?
The best news is that none of the adults stood by and allowed the bullying to take place. Though some of them waited a while, unsure as to whether to approach, eventually all three of them in each different scenario came forward and told off the older actors, protecting the younger boy and even turning it into a teaching moment. Good on them! Watch the video to see exactly how this social experiment happened!
Bullying is a serious epidemic and while it can’t be solved overnight, if we do everything we can to spread awareness against bullying and stand up in moments like these when we see them, we’ll be doing our part. Share away, people.
