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Retro Report on PBS
The Modern Bystander Effect | Full Report
Season 1
Episode 3
Why would someone film an assault instead of intervening? And why didn’t those watching online call the police? A phenomenon social scientists call the “bystander effect” was first identified some 50 years ago after the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City. That case can shed light on behavior in the digital age.
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