Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in Ireland

The happy slapping phenomenon is the latest thing that has the media getting their knickers in a twist. Somehow bullying is worse if your mobile phone is involved, and that doesn’t include using your phone as a weapon in some weird shape or form. Text an insult, take an incriminating photo or film an attack, and all of a sudden you’ve risen from the level of petty thug to Satan’s spawn.

Needless to say the media went looking for a comment for Tuesday’s news and out trotted a spokesperson for the ISPCC (Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty against Children) who happened to blurt out ‘Cameraphones should be banned.’ Come again? Yes you heard that correctly, he actually said cameraphones should be banned. The reasoning behind this strategy goes along the lines of how the devices are an invasion of privacy and as a society we aren’t able to cope with their impact, or some other gobbledy-gook.

If you haven’t anything worthwhile to say then don’t say anything at all. Talk about alienating your audience; every kid in Ireland has or wants a cameraphone. Such a comment seems to indicate that the ISPCC doesn’t have a clear understanding of what makes children tick. I couldn’t believe my ears as he happily chirped away. It’s not like the comment was a complete knee-jerk reaction because happy slapping has been on the boil in media circles for the last couple of weeks.

In my opinion, organisations like the ISPCC shouldn’t be in such a rush to come out and comment on topical issues like this if they haven’t thought it through. At the end of the day, the media are willing to engage with them because of the charitable aspect of their organisation.

You have to recognise the reality of what is going on around you, by denying it you will look out of touch. Just as bloggers would criticise traditional media for not adapting to advances in technology, organisations should also be criticised for not adapting to changes in their marketplace.