A leading charity is urging the public not to spread footage of criminal activity online.

Speaking yesterday, a Family Centre spokeswoman said: “As an organisation that aims to strengthen families and systems to create a healthier community for children, we urge you to think twice before you press send. Remember, the person in the video is someone’s sibling, cousin, or child. Consider the impact of sharing. In a country with less than one degree of separation between people, our real and virtual worlds quickly overlap.

“A video you share with a friend could very quickly end up in the hands of the child of the victim in the video.

“It is our collective responsibility to create the healthy community in which we want to raise our children — physically and virtually.”

This summer has seen several incidents of material going viral, including footage of a sexual encounter involving a minor recorded at Cup Match.

Meanwhile, the Bermuda Police Service reported that some people used cellphones and other electronic devices to capture the brawl that led to the fatal stabbing of Johnathan Darrell, 27, in the early hours of Saturday.

The issue is far from being a purely Bermudian one, with the fatal shooting of journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward in Moneta, Virginia, believed to have been recorded and placed online by Vester Flanagan, the suspected attacker.

After these incidents, the Family Centre spokeswoman said that parents needed to be aware of what their children were being exposed to online.

“Most young people and many adults all over the world are never out of arm’s reach from their phones,” she said. “As a community, we are increasingly living a dual life that straddles the virtual and real worlds.

“For all the ways we use technology to enhance our lives and strengthen relationships with those we love, we are equally capable of using technology in ways that harm each other and weaken our social fabric.”

The group advised parents to talk to their children about the internet, saying: “Have your teen tell you if they ever see anything online that makes them uncomfortable. Make sure they understand that you won’t blame them. Ask them to come to you if anything happens online that hurts or scares them.

“Tell them you won’t punish them by banning them from the internet — a big reason why many children don’t talk to parents about their online problems — and report possible child sexual exploitation, no matter how small, to the police.”