NPO EO | Stip it: the bullying glasses

Traditional video leaves the viewer on the sidelines, but with Virtual Reality, we create radical empathy. By putting on the ‘bullying glasses’, children and Dutch celebrities step directly into the shoes of someone being bullied. A powerful example of how VR can change behavior and create social impact.

The Question

Bullying in schools is a stubborn problem. Often, bystanders or classmates don’t realize how deeply the impact of nasty remarks or exclusion actually cuts. Mediawan Skyhigh was looking for a groundbreaking way to get primary school children (grades 6-8) and well-known Dutch personalities (such as Duncan Tromp, Qucee, and Meester Jesper) to not just watch bullying behavior, but to truly experience it. The goal? To spark empathy, open up the conversation, and make children feel the urgency to intervene.

The Solution

Virtual Reality is the ultimate medium for empathy. In collaboration with Mediawan Skyhigh, VR Owl developed the ‘Pestbril’ (Bullying Glasses) experience. By putting on the VR headset, the user suddenly finds themselves in the middle of a classroom, on the playground, or in the cafeteria.

We opted for 360-degree video in which true stories of bullied children (like Sem, Darren, and Linde) were reenacted. As a viewer, you are literally sitting in the victim’s place. The bullies look you straight in the eye, laugh at you, and the harsh comments hit hard through spatial audio. This makes the experience intense, hyper-realistic, and impossible to escape.

The Execution

With a project handling such a sensitive topic, flawless execution is crucial. Our role consisted of realizing the VR experience both technically and conceptually:

• 360° Content Production & Direction: Together with Mediawan Skyhigh’s directing team, we filmed the scenes so that the camera acts as the eyes of the bullied child. The positioning and eye level were essential here to maximize the psychological impact.

• Hardware & Deployment: For the TV recordings and classroom use, the technology had to work flawlessly and intuitively. We chose standalone VR headsets that launch synchronously at the push of a single button, allowing groups of five children to go through the exact same experience at the same time.

• On-Set Support: Our VR specialists were present during filming to ensure that host Anne-Mar Zwart and the kids’ panel could focus entirely on the content, while the tech ran quietly in the background.