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Naked Photos Shared Via Cell Phones Land Teens In Hot Water
A spur-of-the-moment decision mixed with a lapse in judgment, plus a dose of modern technology, is landing a lot of teens in hot water. No, this is not the heartwarming tale of some 15-year-old kid engaging in the time-honored tradition of trying to get an adult to buy beer from the local convenience store. This is about the much less honorable practice of snapping some nude photos, sharing them via cell phone with a boyfriend or girlfriend, and then (lo and behold) finding those pictures shared with just about everyone across the Web.
But just as buying alcohol underage is illegal, so is sending photos of a naked teen across cell phones and Web pages, which has led to some teens facing charges of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, and defamation. Big words that carry serious implications for actions taken basically on a lark, you might say.
Psychologists say the decision to snap racy shots with a cell phone and then share them is the result of simple, and typical, poor judgment among teens. Today, these poor judgement calls can lead to a very public exposure because of the photo-sharing capabilities of cell phones and social networking sites like MySpace. Cases are cropping up all across the country, from Colorado to Alabama. Sometimes, the photos are shared by an upset ex-boyfriend, and other times, it just seems the kids want to expose themselves. As one of them puts it: "If you look at people's MySpace, all the pictures are slutty." (Editor's note: All our MySpace photos are perfectly demure.)
And lest you think this is just about young girls allowing themselves to be exploited, it seems boys are also known to take some candid shots of themselves.
The solution to this revealing problem? Awareness by both teens and the parents. Of course, the parents could take away their kids' cell phones – but then we may be reading about revolution instead. [Source: CNN]
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Comments
190
Subscribe to commentsAxykattJun 10th 2008 2:56PM
I completely agree. I give my children clear, concise boundaries with definite consequences, AND (and here is the part most parents seem to skip) I stick to them even when it is inconvenient for me. I listen to my kids and try to respect their feelings, but in the end the responsibility for making sure they understand right from wrong is mine. Because I give my children the boundaries they need and treat them with the same respect I DEMAND from them, I can trust my 16 y/o to behave herself, dress appropriately, and come home when a situation gets beyond her comfort level instead of doing what her peers want. The irony of giving your children boundaries is that a stable environment helps them to be truly independent instead of needing the approval of their peers for self-esteem and personal identity. Making sure your teenagers know what they CAN'T do in turn opens their eyes to a whole world of perfectly reasonable and entertaining things that they CAN.
mattJun 10th 2008 2:42PM
for you saying that it is the teens fault that is wrong because many adults even highly respected ones are screwing up just as much but I do agree with this article many teens are stupid enough to be doing things like snapping nude photos of themselves so because of this everybody here is wrong and need to just agree that people are naturally stupid and stop posting these comments
AxykattJun 10th 2008 3:13PM
Just curious, if we shouldn't punish teenagers for acting wrongly because some adults act wrongly, then what SHOULD we do? Those teens' parents probably weren't the people acting badly, so should I assume then that teens can't tell the difference between a star acting like an @$$ and appropriate behavior as modeled by their parents? I get tired of hearing over and over from teens that they want to be treated like adults- right up to the point where they have to take responsibility for their own actions. (And yes, posting naked pictures of other teens on the internet IS just as bad as an adult doing it. It's still the same under-aged person being seen naked by whatever pervs and pedophiles care to look. It's not like only teens are on the internet). At that point our scantily clad, sexually active, car driving, cell phone using, staying out late partying teenagers suddenly cry out "But I'm just a child!" You guys have to pick, adults have consequences and children have little freedom. So, what's it gonna be?
JonJun 10th 2008 3:04PM
People I'm totally against these extremeties that many teens are put with like drinking and drugs, but saying that all teens are "stupid" is just unfair. Last time I checked everyone was a teenager once in their life, me being one now. Like I said I dont support things like this but dont take every person under 18 down with these losers...
iceclimbers1Jun 10th 2008 3:25PM
How about people all have ot take some form of an IQ test, and they take it once a year, and if they get to the point where they are ranked genius before the age of 18 (or 21 in some states) then they should be allowed to "do what they want with their bodies". I have an IQ of 142 and hell, if a teen knows the consequences of sending pictures then why the heck not? I mean if they get out there, well then thats their fault anyways. Myspace and Facebook have policies regarding what you put up there, and any sites with nudity require that you be 18 or older. Therefore, if the child sends a picture, it should be no different than when a child gets to drive. They assume responsibilility for their own actions. And lastly, if it's legal to have sex after the age of 16, does that not make those people victims of pedophiles until they turn 18 (or 21 in some places) regardless of how old the person who they are with is? If someone is younger than 16, thats one thing, but if they are older than 16 and they have a picture of themself, it should not be illegal unless it is posted somewhere. Even then the one who posted them are the ones who should be punished unless the person who is in the pictures gave consent for them to use the pictures.
teenJun 10th 2008 3:25PM
you know im only 15. like wise i wont bother with grammer to make this quick. I have never had sex and i dont intend to until i get married. i know people that have had premarital sex and it has ruined their lives "my friend". Also i have to say that i see my fellow peers doing drugs getting in trouble* not to say i havent made my mistakes* but i see what these decisions do to them and i dont wnat that. Also how many of us men out there understand that looking at porn will make us lust after not our wives when the time comes, but anything that we can get. i just find this disturbing and disgusting.
again srry bout the bad grammer but i have to finish my school work so i had to make it quick
iceclimbers1Jun 10th 2008 3:30PM
and Asxykatt, get your head out of the ground dude, Teens are called "teens" for a reason, because they aren't "children" and they aren't "adults". Perhaps one thing you have forgotten in your life is that while we are still young and dependent on our parents, we have self-consciousness and goals that we wish to achieve, we can't better ourselves for the future if we aren't given the freedom to do so.
Some random guyJun 10th 2008 3:58PM
you know, some people on here have some pretty good points, but some of these comments seem less valid when THAT PERSON SAYS IT IN ALL CAPS AND WITH LIKE FIFTY EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! doesn't help...
doesn't help at all
CommonSenseJun 10th 2008 4:05PM
Strangely im more worried about gas prices than teens with cell phones.
CordeliaJun 10th 2008 6:36PM
16 is the age of consent in MD as well as half the states in this country, so this rule should apply to photographs too. If your states age is 16 then at 16 you can do what you want, if it is 18 then you just have to wait.