Social Circle Launches Public Service Video on Dangers of Texting
More stories from Darian Fountain
Drive Time: Senior Eiress Greenwood and sophomore D’onna Dandridge rehearse a scene in their video against the dangers of texting while walking. A texter nearly walks in front of their miniature car during the video.
“Don’t Text and Walk” is the message of the new public service video created by the Social Circle Club and the Weber Shandwick public relations team.
The video will be sent to Washington, D.C., where it will be presented to National Safe Kids to use as they see fit. The local client, Safe Kids Oakland County, will also receive the video for review and use, said Naomi Patton, a vice-president of public relations for Weber Shandwick.
The video features Southfield High School students, such as Eiress Greenwood, Tiffany Harris and Loren Brown, walking and texting before almost getting hit by a car.
The video, which is humorous in parts, is meant to teach a serious lesson. It is designed to warn young people against the dangers of texting while walking.
The Social Circle Club created three versions of the video of varying lengths for Youtube, Vine, and Instagram, using #TextYaLater. All three versions were unveiled at a reveal pizza party at Southfield High sponsored by Weber Shandwick for those students who were involved in the project.
Social Circle member Greenwood said, “I enjoyed making a video that will somehow make a difference in teens’ lives.” Greenwood said teens walk home with the cell phones and cross streets without looking up from their phones. She hopes the video will cause them to think twice before doing that again.
“I hope the kids in Social Circle have learned a well-rounded view of what public relations is,” said Allia Miller, senior account executive with Weber Shandwick. Miller is a liaison between the school and the agency.
Lenard Ingram, also an account executive at Weber Shandwick, said he hopes the making of the video helps spark an interest in pursuing a public relations career, and preferably with Weber Shandwick.
The Social Circle, now in its fifth year, is a partnership between Southfield High School and Weber Shandwick to introduce students to the field of public relations. Each year the members of Social Circle create a public service video.
The Social Circle is sponsored by English teacher Karen Melton and meets monthly after school in Melton’s room.
Students who are interested in joining the club next year should see Melton in room B-223.
