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Rebecca Black Recounts ‘Friday' Cyberbullying at 13

The bullying she experienced when "Friday" went viral is not unlike what happens in schools and on computer screens every day

"Friday" singer Rebecca Black wrote an essay for NBC News’ THINK opinion section discussing the online bullying she faced after rocketing to fame at age 13:

I was skipping my way through the minefield of early adolescence, experiencing the same low-grade bullying that most kids do, when I recorded a music video during a school break, just to help me gain some experience and have some fun. When “Friday” went up on the internet, it went crazy — and the onslaught of negative attention I receive was so sudden and so intense that I wasn’t sure I would survive. 

One minute, I was a normal girl and then, in the next, millions of people know who I was and they were ruthless in hurling the most vile words my way. People were writing things all over the internet, on social media and they were laughing at me on TV shows, and making fun of me in YouTube videos. It was open season and I was the target. The fact that there was a human, a person — a 13-year-old girl — on the other side of the screen seemingly escaped so many people’s attention.

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