IT ENTREPRENEUR HARVEY MORTON TAKES STAND AGAINST ONLINE BULLYING AS NEW BLOG POST FEATURING ZOELLA GOES VIRAL

Zoella’s ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ advent calendar was released this November. Created in partnership with UK pharmacy giant Boots, the calendar contains a mixture of Zoella-themed products including scented candles, cookie cutters and a notepad.

With a price tag of £50, some parents – not to mention fellow bloggers and Youtubers – have regarded the item as overly pricey for an advent calendar containing just 12 doors. Many left negative reviews complaining about the item, but others took to social media to voice their outrage, with some of the comments becoming overly vitriolic and personal, as Morton pointed out in his post.

“Bloggers and YouTubers can be easy targets because they're the face of their own brands and don't have an institution to hide behind,” writes Morton. Having experienced cyberbullying and harassment in his own life, the entrepreneur was disheartened to see the same attitudes still alive and well, fuelled by the sense of anonymity which the internet provides.

“I’m not suggesting everyone has to like Zoella,” adds Morton. “But the bottom line is that our words matter, whether they’re typed under the cloak of anonymity or using our real name. How we treat and react to one another is important.”

The article was shared online by Zoella’s boyfriend, Alfie Deyes (PointlessBlog) and has been championed by the Anti Bullying Alliance for it’s relevance to the experience of not just online stars, but everyday people who are also unbuffered by a company presence to hide behind. Harvey has received several encouraging messages since sharing his post, with people retelling their own experiences with cyberbullying - and thanking him for having the courage to share a post sure to attract vitriol from online trolls who resent being referred to as ‘cyberbullies’.

The article has already been viewed over 152,000 times and has garnered a great response from the Twitter community.

“The purpose of the post was to raise awareness of a very real issue affecting many of our lives,” says Morton. “There’s great value to be had from just being kind in our online lives, and creating a positive digital footprint.”