On Tuesday, July 5th, Seventeen Magazine and ABC Family are launching the “Delete Digital Drama” Campaign to bring awareness to the youth issue of online bullying.
First, on July 5th, t-shirts with the word [delete] printed on them will be available at the mall-based retailer Charlotte Russe with 100% of the proceeds donated to the non-profit organization StompOutBullying.org. Also on July 5th, Seventeen magazine’s August issue will be on newsstands. This issue will focus on “Delete Digital Drama” and will feature personal stories from readers and ABC Family talent about their own experiences with bullying.
Then, the “Rally to Delete Digital Drama” is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 14th at 4PM PT at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, CA. The rally will include appearances by ABC Family talent including Shay Mitchell (“Pretty Little Liars”), Daren Kagasoff (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”), Skyler Samuels (“The Nine Lives of Chloe King”), Grey Damon (“The Nine Lives of Chloe King”), Katie Leclerc (“Switched at Birth”), Vanessa Marano (“Switched at Birth”) and Emily Osment (“Cyberbully”); Seventeen magazine’s editor-in-chief Ann Shoket; and a surprise musical performance, as well as an autograph signing and premium giveaways.
ABC Family will then air a two-hour original movie, Cyberbully, starring Emily Osment (“Hannah Montana”), Kelly Rowan (“The OC”) and Kay Panabaker (“No Ordinary Family”), premiering on Sunday, July 17th at 8/7c. Expect the debut of the PSA featuring Emily Osment throughout the broadcast.
Cyberbully follows Taylor Hillridge (Emily Osment), a teenage girl who falls victim to online bullying, and the cost it takes on her as well as her friends and family. Taylor is a pretty seventeen-year-old student dealing with her parents’ recent divorce and painfully aware of her lower social status in high school. When her mom gives her a computer for her birthday, Taylor is excited by the prospect of going online to meet new friends without her mother always looking over her shoulder. However, Taylor soon finds herself the victim of betrayal and bullying while visiting a popular social website. Obsessed with the damaging posts, she begins to withdraw from her family and friends, including her life-long best friend, Samantha Caldone (Kay Panabaker). Tormented and afraid to face her peers at school, Taylor is pushed to an extreme breaking point. It is only after this life-changing event that Taylor learns that she is not alone – meeting other teens, including a classmate, who have had similar experiences. Taylor’s mom, Kris (Kelly Rowan), reels from the incident and takes on the school system and state legislation to help prevent others from going through the same harrowing ordeal as her daughter.
Verizon has also joined the movement with a call-to-action text campaign. Beginning July 5th, Verizon Wireless customers can text “Delete” to 3332 to pledge their support to end digital drama. Verizon will premiere the Delete Digital Drama awareness announcement on FiOS TV, as well as the mobile company’s V CAST video on Demand.
We can also show our support for the campaign by adding a Delete Digital Drama badge to our Facebook and Twitter profile photos. These “Twibbons” will be available on ABCFamily.com, Seventeen.com, Twibbon.com and Facebook shortly. I will definitely be participating in this cause and I hope that you all can spread the word about this campaign as well!