Oh, the mems! Eight years ago today I was fortunate to have the opportunity to promote my first book, a social media guide for kids, “@Sophie Takes a #Selfie – Rules and Etiquette for Taking Good Care Before You Share,“ on FOX29 Good Day Philadelphia with Sheinelle Jones and Mike Jerrick. I still remember the excitement of being on live TV and praying I didn’t say the wrong thing. The rush I felt after it was over is comparable to what it must feel like after jumping out of an airplane for the first time (something I would never do) and live to tell about it. Sheinelle and Mike could not have been more kind or welcoming, and put me immediately at ease. My only regret is the fact that I forgot to record the show at home and do not have the video. Since that first appearance I’ve been asked back many times to weigh in on all sorts of things… like that time Kim K. broke the internet with her derrière aka “big bank” as the kids today say, on the front of Paper Magazine.
Who can forget the Duct Tape Challenge? The kids are still doing this one today. Please be careful!
It was fun being a contributor on FOX29 Weekend.
Weighing in on more serious topics stays with me as a parent of two teenagers and is one of the main reasons I am passionate about talking to kids about social media and online safety.
Just about a year after my first visit to Good Day Philadelphia, I met Nicole Brewer at CBS3 Philly, and she put together a package called “The Tech Talk.” …these days I refer to it as the talk we need to have with our kids before the sex talk.
…and then Norah O’Donnell quoted me on live television and personally commented on my Instagram post after which I cried in my kitchen. “Anonymity is the new virginity.”
More recently we’ve been talking about TikTok Challenges
Putting this together reminds me that a lot more has happened in the past eight years than I’ve realized. Sometimes that devil, Imposter Syndrome, creeps in. Not today Satan! I’m going to take a moment to be proud.
Somewhat surprisingly, the very first media request for “Sophie” was from Molouk Y. Ba-Isa, Gulf Editor of the Saudi Gazette and one of the first female journalists ever to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. She wrote a full page article about my little book.
I am continually grateful for the many TV appearances and the relationships I’ve built along the way. Always look forward to that phone call that ignites my brain and I always say YES. These experiences have led to talks with groups of kids and the creation of “A Very Social Presentation” which I share in small group assemblies with elementary schools. I love talking with kids and am passionate about encouraging them to think and consider things from different points of view. They teach me a lot. I hope I teach them a shred of any. thing.
Thanks for stopping by,
xo J.J.
J. J. Cannon 