When Good Morning America Calls

As I was looking at some glorious ankle boots at Macys, my phone rings and I see that it is a New York area code. I quickly pick it up. I think I am going to pass out when I hear, “Good afternoon, Ms. Clark Love. This is a producer from Good Morning America calling to see if you have a moment to talk!!” Do I have a moment??Are you kidding me?” After grabbing a chair in the busiest part of the shoe section, I listen intently as the producer tells me she wants to send a film crew to Houston to interview me about the newest social media cyber bullying trend called, “Roasting”. This trend involves people asking to be insulted by posting photos or videos of themselves on platforms such as InstagramYouTube, Twitter and Reddit, usually with the hashtag #roastme. Then friends or strangers online will take turns insulting the person who posted the original photo/video.

When we hang up, I do a normal thing when one is called by a producer from Good Morning America… I scream and jump up and down!!! Of course this causes a raucous in the already chaotic shoe section. I then proceed to announce to perfect strangers that I was just contacted by Good Morning America for an interview to be on their show for a bullying segment.  I was then surprised as people smiled and begin to congratulate me. This day had to be one of the high points in my career!! I left Macy’s with no new boots, but a definite spring in my step!

CHANNEL 11 KHOU-TV: “If ONLY PARENTS KNEW…” Weeklong TV Series on Cyber Bullying

KHOU Interview

In February 2017, I consulted with and provided the most current research and candid interviews for Channel 11 KHOU-TV’s investigative Reporter Jeremy Rogalski for a weeklong series entitled, “If ONLY PARENTS KNEW…. This series featured an honest, heartbreaking and powerful look into how kids are engaging in cyber bullying behavior, what it is and how it is exposing our teenagers to cruel bullying, explicit content, dangerous situations and more. If you would like to see the footage of each broadcast, as well as take a bullying quiz, authored by myself, to find how much you know—or don’t know—about bullies in 2017 or you would like to know the tips for how you can monitor your kids’ online habits.

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS’ CONFERENECE

What an amazing experience to have the opportunity to again deliver a keynote and a workshop to a very large audience at the 26th Annual Texas School Social Workers Conference. The theme was “Transforming Generations”. School Social Workers have many challenges, including dealing with the rampant venues for cyber bullying. What does one do when cyber bullying spills into school? One cannot begin to address this issue unless one is equipped with a toolkit of innovative and practical interventions to combat bullying. Who would of thought that in our generation, kids would be using apps such as,” YikYak, kik, Chat-Roulette, 9Gag, Omegle, Vine and Whisper” to spread vicious rumors and post inappropriate photos/videos? Awareness is our first line of defense; we have to know what and how our kids are utilizing social media to escalate viciousness and terrorize other kids 24/7. Affronted by cyberspace’s bullying incidents, many school parents are looking to administrators, teachers, social workers and counselors 4 help. To all conference participants’, my hope is that you will take your toolkit and immediately begin applying what you have learned during this session, both on the school front, as well in your community!


 

Interview with Forbes Magazine

Who would not feel honored in receiving a phone call from a Forbes Magazine reporter requesting an interview on cyber bullying and then being featured in the article as a bullying expert? One of my quotes from the article: “The people who tend to be bullies, online and in person, have an average or higher self-esteem than their peers.” Conventional wisdom has long suggested that bullies come from rough families, have low self-esteem, or mainly harass others because they were once victims themselves. So, in turn, schools and workplaces have designed interventions/programs for bullies with the belief that the ones who are engaging in bullying behaviors have low self-esteem. Countless research studies/surveys have found that bullies have higher self-esteem, lower rates of depression and greater social success than their peers. WOW! This means that schools and workplaces need to make some dire changes in the way they implement bullying prevention/intervention techniques and programming! If you would like to know more about this research and actually learn what works and what does not work in bully prevention/intervention, contact me to speak, consult with or train for your particular school or organization!

You can access this Forbes Interview with a Google Search using “Forbes.com Donna Clark Love”