Stunt shows such as Jackass, where presenters hurt themselves or embarrass strangers for fun, have inspired British teenagers to slap people in the street and film it on their cellphones, an expert said.
The craze, known as ”happy slapping”, has spread across Britain over the past six months, with youngsters recording their attacks for a laugh and posting them on the internet, according to the police and anti-bullying groups.
”What we see the kids watching these shows doing, is thinking, ‘Well, maybe I could stage my own scenes of pain and humiliation along these lines’,” Dr Graham Barnfield, head of media at the University of East London, told ITV’s Tonight With Trevor McDonald show on Wednesday evening.
”Then, with happy slapping, people are drawn in as random victims rather than the kind of voluntary performances we get in the shows that are being copied,” he said.
”I think happy slapping is becoming a short cut in the eyes of the slappers to fame and notoriety among the people who see the images circulated on the web or sent to them via their mobile phones.”
In a special programme on the phenomenon, ITV interviewed some of the teenagers who admit to having administered a few ”funny” slaps, but the craze appears to be coming more violent as the attackers try to outdo each other.
”You see someone just sitting there, they look like they’re dumb. You just run up to them and slap them. And run off. It’s funny,” said Manny Logan (16) from south London.
”If they made a programme on that it would be popular — it would be funny. People getting slapped at random is good man,” he said, adding: ”It’s good fun to do it as well.”
The madcap US stunt show Jackass as well as a British version known as Dirty Sanchez have been broadcast on MTV and Channel 4.
A spokesperson for MTV insisted that all of its programmes complied with Britain’s broadcast regulations.
”Shows such as Dirty Sanchez and Jackass are accompanied by clear visual and verbal warnings informing viewers that the stunts are carried out under the supervision of health and safety professionals, and that no attempt should be made to recreate or re-enact them,” she said. – Sapa-AFP