“Alexa, change your name!”
That’s what parents are calling on companies to do after a teenage girl named Alexa legally changed her name after being bullied for having the same name as Amazon’s smart speaker assistant.
U.K.-based parents revealed how their daughter’s name, Alexa, has resulted in harassment because of its association with the ubiquitous smart assistant, according to the BBC.
Teens named Alexa are getting bullied for being named after the Amazon smart speaker, a report suggests.
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“She started to not want to introduce herself because of the jokes and the backlash,” Alexa’s mother, who declined to give her name and was referred to as “Heather,” told the BBC, explaining that teachers also made jokes about it.
The name “Alexa” has become synonymous with Amazon as it’s used to call out commands on its voice-activated smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot which requires users to say the word “Alexa” before asking a question or calling out orders.
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Having the name “Alexa” has even resulted in a reported move for Heather’s family.
“We have cut off friends and moved her to a new school to allow a fresh start,” Heather said.
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Other parents have also expressed wanting Amazon to change the name of its speaker. Massachusetts-based Lauren Johnson started a campaign called “Alexa is a Human,” noting in a letter to Amazon that her daughter, is “constantly bullied at school and camp because her name is Alexa.”
Amazon did not immediately return a Fox News request for comment. The company told BBC in a statement: “As an alternative to Alexa, we also offer several other wake words customers can choose from, including Echo, Computer, and Amazon. We value feedback from customers, and as with everything we do, we will continue to look for ways to offer them more choice in this area.”
