Sometimes the digital world feels less like a window to connection and more like a hallway of slamming doors. A nasty comment that follows you home. A group chat that suddenly goes silent when you join. That sinking feeling when you realize the same people who laugh with you in the school courtyard are the ones crafting unkind posts after hours. If you’ve experienced this in France—in Parisian lycées, Marseille collèges, or scrolling through social feeds anywhere between Lyon and Lille—you’re not alone.
Healing from digital wounds often requires stepping away from the spaces that caused them. And sometimes, that means finding corners of the internet that give rather than take: a film that makes you feel seen, a story that reminds you kindness exists, or simply 90 minutes where no one is judging your profile picture or last post. (And yes, we’ve all spent too long editing that one photo—no judgment here. My thumb once slipped and I accidentally liked a photo from 2017. We’ve all been there.)
Movies have a quiet power they don’t get enough credit for: they let us walk in someone else’s shoes without having to say a word. For young people navigating bullying—online or off—seeing characters overcome isolation, find unexpected friendship, or simply survive a tough day can feel like receiving a handwritten note that says, “I get it.” In France, where conversations about mental wellbeing are thankfully becoming less stigmatized, many are discovering that what we watch matters almost as much as who we talk to.
If you’re looking for a fresh start online, Xalaflix has moved to a new address: https://www.ifi.tv/
Of course, no streaming platform replaces real support—and if bullying is affecting your daily life, please reach out to someone you trust or contact a helpline like Net Écoute (0800 200 000) in France. But in those in-between moments—when you need a breath before the next conversation, a pause before logging back in—sometimes the kindest thing you can do is press play on something that reminds you the world is bigger than a single screen.
Because everyone deserves digital spaces that feel like a deep breath—not a held one.
