Happy slapping
Happy slapping was a fad originating in the United Kingdom around 2005, in which one or more people attack a victim for the purpose of recording the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone). Though the term usually refers to relatively minor acts of violence such as hitting or slapping the victim, more serious crimes such as the murder of a retired care worker, and sexual assault have been classified as "happy slapping" by the BBC. Use with video technology The ease and general availability of video cameras in mobile phones means that such attacks need not be planned carefully beforehand and are more easily watched and circulated for entertainment. Some political and media commentators claim the craze was inspired by such television shows as Jackass, Dirty Sanchez and Bumfights. History "Happy slapping" started in the south London Borough of Lewisham, in a format known as "Slap Happy TV", where a happy-slapping video would be recorded, and then watched by dozens of people like a TV show, but in the form of a montage. Videos of Happy Slapping were commonly circulated via Bluetooth on mobile phones. The first newspaper article to use the phrase "happy slapping" was "Bullies