US teenager bashed by friends for YouTube video

Melbourne, Apr 9 : YouTube mania has taken an ugly turn with young 'cewebrities', a pun on celebrities, going to any kind of low to grab their 15 minutes of fame - a teen in the US was allegedly bashed by her friends so that they could post the attack on the video-sharing website.

The police officials said that Florida teenager Victoria Lindsay was set upon by the girls after being lured to a friend's home.

One of the girls allegedly struck the teen on the head several times and then slammed her head into a wall, knocking her unconscious.

While footage of other bashings has been posted on the web, investigators are particularly concerned that in this case the attack was carried out purely to create a YouTube video.

In a clip of the video released by the Polk County sheriff's office, the teens can be seen blocking a door and hitting Victoria.

"It's absolutely an animalistic attack,'' News.com.au quoted Sheriff Grady Judd, as saying.

"They lured her into the home for express purpose of filming the attack and posting it on the Internet," Grady added.

Victoria's father, Patrick Lindsay, said the teens intended to post the video on YouTube.

Psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said cewebrities were seeking their 15 minutes through YouTube, a pursuit that was becoming more popular "than ever before".

"These people are spiritual anorexics who don't have any meaning or belonging in their lives, and find purpose in this mindless violence," he said.

Carr-Gregg said it was only a matter of time before the same violence involving victims "lured" to specific destinations would happen in Australia.

"Young people are less and less connected to adult life, and teenage girls are seeing their peers as their most precious resource," he said.

"This is the most tribal generation of girls I have ever come across in my 22-years of adolescent psychology, and they are banding together for this 'entertainment' of bullying and harassment."

Sydney adolescent psychologist Kimberley O'Brien said the girls wanted pictures to go with their words.

"Cyber bullying is rife, and filming an event like this is another way of bringing it to life," she said.

ANI