“The Epidemic” is an interactive PSA that integrates real text messages with film.

The film, designed to be watched on a phone, is viewed twice. On first viewing, it seems to tell the story of a girl growing sicker from an apparent health epidemic. At the end of the film the viewer is prompted to enter their phone number to find out what really happened.

The exact same film then plays again, but this time the viewer receives real text messages at the same time as the girl in the video. The seemingly inconsequential glances the girl has been giving her phone throughout are revealed to be something more sinister. It becomes clear she is a victim of cyberbullying, the real epidemic of the story.

The film shows viewers how victims experience cyberbullying: on their phones, without any warning. The texts were inspired by real cyberbullying messages.

There’s an epidemic sweeping America. 59% of teens report being a victim of cyberbullying, and the CDC estimates that it’s the root cause of 20% of teen suicides. Cyberbullying, unlike conventional bullying, is more difficult for others to see. With only 1 in 10 instances reported, cyberbullying can often go unnoticed until it’s too late. With this PSA, anti-bullying activist Monica Lewinsky wanted to draw attention to the problem of online abuse by putting viewers in the victims’ shoes.

The young girl’s performance in this PSA is crucial. Seen one way, her performance needs to portray someone coming down with some sort of illness. Seen another, she needs to depict someone experiencing mental anguish caused by severe bullying. The performance walks a narrow line. Finding a young actor capable of delivering such an ambiguous — but still deeply affecting — performance was a huge challenge that involved a lengthy casting process.