Parents of children called Alexa challenge Amazon
Parents of children called Alexa say their daughters are being bullied because it is the same name that Amazon uses for its virtual assistant.
The word Alexa has become increasingly ubiquitous in recent years as more households use voice-activated smart speakers. Amazon's Echo and Echo Dot use Alexa as the command you say before giving it instructions or asking a question.
However, this is causing problems for people named Alexa, who are frequently on the receiving end of repeated jokes, where people shout their name and issue a command.
Heather's (not her real name) teenage daughter Alexa received abuse from other children, and even teachers, because of her name, as soon as she started secondary school.
"She started to not want to introduce herself because of the jokes and the backlash. 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."
Heather says it took a huge toll on her daughter's mental health. Ultimately they decided to legally change Alexa's name.
