Many viewers told of their frustration, as the perpetrators in many cases go unpunished, partly due to those who are younger than 14 being below the age of criminal responsibility.
One Sina Weibo user commented that the indifference of parents, teachers and bystanders had contributed to problem of school violence, and that the consequences have been widespread in recent years, with more "problematic" children having internet access.
Although the media and lawmakers have begun to focus attention on the issue, school violence has been a problem long before the arrival of social media platforms.
Li Guoqing, a photographer based in Beijing who watched Better Days, said that although the film focused on a case of extreme bullying, it reminded him of his teenage years, when he gave nicknames to classmates, or attempted to "isolate" rivals competing for the attention of girls he liked.
"I was unaware at the time that such acts placed me in the ranks of school bullies, albeit to a less-serious degree," Li, 28, said.
He added that school violence had long been understated by parents and teachers, until "brutal" video clips circulated online revealed how serious the problem had become.
Fast-expanding internet access among minors, along with the rise of loosely-controlled social media and video-streaming services, have exposed young people to violent and sexual content. According to children's law researcher Yuan Ningning, such content is strongly linked to juvenile offences, especially among children with no effective supervision from parents or guardians.
"Some data showed that over 70 percent of underage offenders had access to improper information via the internet," Yuan said.
According to a recent report by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League and the China Internet Network Information Center, about one-third of netizens under age 18 reported encountering pornography, violence and illegal drug use while surfing the internet.
Sun Hongyan, a researcher at the China Youth and Children Research Center, said the percentage was even higher when internet censorship had not been so rigorously enforced.
Citing figures from a report by the center in 2009, she said 48.3 percent of adolescents had visited porn sites, and 43.4 percent had received emails that suggested violence, or in which they were bullied.
Figures from the China Internet Network Information Center show that by the end of 2015, there were more than 79 million teenagers in rural areas with internet access.
With the parents of many working in better-paying jobs in big cities, the teenagers were under the "limited guardianship" of other relatives, thus becoming more vulnerable to improper use of the internet.
Although easier internet access has made it easier for young bullies to prey on victims, it has also created a backlash by fueling a gradual shift in attitude toward juvenile offences, prompting policymakers to act.
Top prosecutors have stepped up efforts to bring school bullies to justice.
