Naperville girls' answer to cyberbullying? 'Shake it Off'
A youth video contest in Naperville generated 140 messages against cyberbullying, but the strongest could come from a Taylor Swift song: “Shake it Off.”
The two winners of the contest chose Swift's dance mantra as the last of five anti-cyberbullying tips they shared with their peers in their first-place film “The Predator — Shake it Off.”
Sisters Julia and Paige Bottarelli of Naper Elementary School were crowned champions of the Your Digital Footprint Matters video contest for their two-minute video, which spells out these five steps to avoid cyberbullying:
• Tell your parents
• Do not answer the bully
• Don't fight back
• Now save the evidence
• “Shake it Off!”
“The fifth step was ‘Shake it Off,' and what we meant was sometimes you can't dwell over one little thing,” Julia said. “Sometimes you have to keep going.”
Julia, 11, served as director and editor of the mini-movie, while Paige, 8, acted in two roles: the social media predator and the bullied prey.
Viewers watch the predator at a keyboard typing, then see the prey's response as a smiling Paige begins to cry.
“The girl just got bullied. She feels sad and she's really upset about what happened to her,” Paige said.
During the month they shot and edited the video, the girls learned the importance of “not doing mean things about a person,” as Paige puts it. Their parents helped with research, but the acting, directing and editing was all the sisters' own.
The girls' mother, Katherine Bottarelli, says they gained some early warning tips for the not-so-far-away future when they'll make profiles, post pictures and write status updates on social sites.
“I thought it was a really great way for the kids to get a better understanding about cyberbullying — specifically my kids because they're so young and they're not overly active on social media yet,” Bottarelli said. “It did give them the opportunity to research a little and find out things to watch for as they get older.”
Leaders of KidsMatter, the nonprofit group that organized the video contest, say cyberbullying is a “critical issue” that can become a “destructive” force in the lives of young people in this digital age. Executive Director IdaLynn Wenhold said the 250 students who entered the contest show many won't stand idly by when harmful behavior happens online.
“This event highlights the many young people willing to be ‘upstanders' to bullying both on and offline and encourages their peers — and all of us as adults — to do the same,” Wenhold said. “Kids literally taught each other via their videos about the dangers of cyberbullying and why they say ‘no' to this destructive behavior.”
Participants were honored during a red carpet event Tuesday in which about 600 audience members cast live votes to determine the winner. The Bottarellis packed the crowd with about 40 friends, neighbors and relatives who boomed with applause when Julia and Paige were named the winners with 513 votes.
The second-place video received 368 votes, recognizing Naperville Central High School students Sam Wichhart and Daniel Keeling for “Cyberbullying Hurts Even the Happiest People.”
The third-place video, “Freak,” gathered 252 votes for a team of Arjav Chokshi, Peyton Owen, Maggie Owen, Anitej Siluveru, Tanmay Varshney and Ryan Nugent from Granger Middle School in Aurora.