Facebook goes feral in Hervey Bay
EXCLUSIVE footage of a fight between two Hervey Bay school girls has shed light on what has reportedly become a sickening sport for the region’s teenagers.
In the mobile phone video two 14-year-old girls can be seen wrestling, kicking, punching and tearing at each other’s hair while onlookers video the fight with their phones, cheer and encourage them.
The shocking behaviour is symptomatic of a disturbing national trend of youths glorifying school-yard violence by filming and posting videos online.
Brave teens have told the Chronicle these type of fights are common in Hervey Bay and are often provoked by bullying and offensive messages on social networking site Facebook.
A drama-hungry crowd armed with cameras and mobile phones gather around a flurry of thrashing arms and legs as two teens battle it out on the ground.
It’s a scene that has become all too common on worldwide websites but shocking footage captured in Hervey Bay on the weekend has revealed the ugly trend of filming fights for entertainment has crept right into the Fraser Coast’s backyard.
Teens who saw footage of the fight have spoken out about the violence which they say is usually sparked in online chat rooms and in particular, Facebook.
“It usually starts with people thinking they are keyboard heroes and talking tough from behind their computers,” one said
“Then someone sees them down the street or at school and it’s on.”
The teens also admit that more often than not, the fights are caused by trivial issues which build up into a bigger problem.
“It’s little things that cause it,” they said
“Then everyone gets involved and it becomes a big thing.”
The girls involved in the weekend brawl are believed to have become enemies when one of them had their pants flushed down the toilet at Hervey Bay High School.
Tension simmered between the girls and their friends and, following several fiery text messages and Facebook posts, reached boiling point in a Hervey Bay car park on Saturday.
About noon the girls and their friends gathered on a vacant block of land next to the car park in a busy Hervey Bay shopping centre.
In the video the girls face off for a while before one jumps on the other and the struggle begins.
Girls can be heard cheering them on by name and one boy constantly calls out “she’s got her guard down – get her”.
On several occasions the girl who maintains control for most of the fight can be seen looking up as if to pose for the camera.
When the fight is over the redhead is congratulated by her peers. One girl picks her up, hugs her and cheers.
Neither police nor ambulance officers were called to the scene.
