to the part because Kayla's speech mannerisms are similar to hers. She had graduated eighth grade one week before the production began. Upon reviewing the screenplay, Fisher's father shouted and swore reading the "truth or dare" scene, but made sure his daughter was comfortable with the material. Burnham considered Josh Hamilton to have a "dad vibe". Daniel Zolghadri was cast as Riley. Because of the "truth or dare" scene, many young actors who auditioned played the part as sinister, but Burnham coached Zolghadri to be "the opposite of creepy". Emily Robinson and Imani Lewis were teenagers when cast and both said they found the depiction of anxiety relatable. Jake Ryan, who played Gabe, remarked that in the screenplay Gabe "was supposed to be off-centered", and not knowing the meaning of this phrase, played himself. Actual teachers and students at Suffern Middle School in New York were used as extras, with principal Brian Fox saying five to ten students were cast. During the audition process for the real-life eighth graders, one student claimed having eczema was her "special talent" and another auditioned by "eating a bell pepper like an apple." Burnham accepted this as a qualification. Band teacher Dave Yarrington said Burnham cast him because he "liked my look". Filming The film was shot in Suffern, New York in summer 2017, over 27 days, with shooting at Suffern Middle School in July. For the mall scenes, exterior shots were taken at Palisades Center in West Nyack, New York, while interior scenes were shot at the nearby The Galleria at White Plains. Burnham chose not to obscure the natural look of Fisher's skin, who wore some make-up but whose acne was left visible. Kayla's use of the phrase "Gucci!" to sign-off her video blogs came from Fisher's habit of ending conversations this way, which was also imitated by Burnham and others on set. Fisher's other habits of slouching and rubbing her arm were also incorporated into her character. The filmmakers adopted Fisher's advice that "no one uses Facebook anymore" in regards to teenagers, and it was substituted in the film with Instagram. Beyond minor changes, improvisation was rarely employed. To depict texting, Burnham rejected using visual effects to show messages as on-screen bubbles, as in House of Cards. He opted for a "practical" portrayal, filming the phones themselves. Kayla's video blogs were shot with an actual MacBook Pro. Because the actual Internet