Violent social media trend spreading across schools has officials worried: ‘Cowardly act’

Violent videos of Australian schoolchildren are spreading across social media in what police fear is a disturbing new trend.

More than 20 of the videos, which show kids beating and kicking each other, have been shared to one social media page alone within the last month.

The trend has swept schools across Melbourne, with alarming footage showing students throwing others onto the ground, stomping on each other’s heads and even kicking them.

According to the Herald Sun, some of the students involved in these violent acts are from Point Cook Senior College, St Albans Secondary College, Frankston High School, St Francis Xavier College and Tarneit Senior College.

This comes after news.com.au previously reported that students were uploading the fights and posting victims’ bloodied faces and bodies to social media.

The publication wrote in April that on one Instagram page alone, there had been more than 140 brutal fights that involved public and private schools posted.

In one video, two students are fighting in a bathroom with one student thrown to the ground as the other looms over and repeatedly punches them.

Another video shows a boy throwing punches at his victim at least six times in a schoolyard before classmates went to save him.

Even the St Albans train station became the sight of a brawl, with the footage showing a female student dragging another girl across the ground by her dreadlocks as the victim screams for help.

A spokesperson for Victoria Police told news.com.au that assaulting someone is “not brave or a piece of fun — it’s a sickening, cowardly act”.

“Assaults should absolutely not be celebrated or shared for entertainment purposes,” they said.

Victoria Police also advised students thinking of participating, who know someone who engages in the act or finds it entertaining, to think of the consequences.

“Our advice to those depicted in some of these videos is simple – consider the damage your actions will cause, as the repercussions from a fight don’t always start and end in the schoolyard,” they said.

When police become involved, you could very easily end up with a criminal record, which may impact your ability to get a job, study or travel overseas.

“When vision of a fight involving students comes to our attention, we work closely with schools to identify those involved and do not hesitate to lay criminal charges.”

Les Twentyman, who is a high-profile youth worker told the Herald Sun that he’s warned teens against taking part in the fight club videos — whether they film it or participate.

“They [teens] could end up seriously hurting someone or they could end up in jail,” he said.

“We’ve seen recent cases where teens have ended up in court, with videos being used as evidence … their lives can change forever.”