Teenager named Alexa changes name after being bullied
A teenage girl ends up changing her name after being bullied for sharing her name with Amazon assistant, Alexa...
Sharing names can sometimes be a fun thing, especially when it comes to finding someone who shares your name and they become your friend. But what happens if your name is associated with something that is reminiscent of something or someone that is often the source of lots of bullying and teasing?
Do you change your name or do you move away to a place where no one knows you? What is the best way to deal with this? We're not sure. It's all well and good to say that it can't be easy to face bullying in all its forms, but being the victim can be so damaging.
A teenage girl ended up changing her name legally because she was being constantly bullied and teased. Her name was Alexa and she shared her name with the Amazon Assistant, which is where the bullying always went.
It was found that many parents whose kids were named Alexa found that their kids would suffer from bullying due to the fact that they shared their name with the virtual assistant AI developed by Amazon.
She started to not want to introduce herself because of the jokes and the backlash," she said. "She was and still is a child, yet adults thought it was OK to make a joke of her. It's devastating. The school was unhelpful and told her she needed to build resilience.
The young girl and her family decided to change her name legally and she is now also in a different school. The mother has expressed that she feels like the Amazon didn't do much ethical research when it came to choosing the name.
She's in a much better place now. We have cut off friends and moved her to a new school to allow a fresh start. The injustice will never leave her, or us. Amazon must change the default wake word on its devices.
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