SEXTING: The Social Media Wake-Up Call We All Need Right Now

If any good may come out of the latest troubling incident involving the publication of graphic photos of teenagers posted on the social media sites, it is that it should serve as a wake-up call to both teens and parents.

The nude and semi-nude images of teenagers, described as “graphic and horrific,” show the dangers that irresponsible social media use can pose to young people today. There have been several cases of “sexting“ leading to very bad reports, yet it seems the young people are not considering the consequences of hitting send.

Tens of thousands of explicit self-portraits taken by teenagers are ending up on websites viewed by paedophiles.

The naked or sexual pictures are often taken by girls at the request of boys they are friends with and sent via mobile phone.

But unbeknown to the girls, these photographs may end up being passed around the school and even shared on social networking sites such as Facebook – then stolen and published on websites used by paedophiles.

So, whether or not you’re tweeting or sharing your daily photos on Facebook, you have to acknowledge it: Interacting with friends online is a fact of life especially for teenagers.

Related Article: 7 Important Questions To Ask Yourself Before Sharing Photos Online

Besides the benefits, there are also risks which can be far more damaging either to you, or to your friends. Below are 3 very important rules of online interactions you should keep in mind at all times.

1. Relationships are more important than your follower count.

Sure, teens who post particularly scandalous (a.k.a. damaging) photographs will gain Internet popularity for a few hours. But does that hold any real value? If the cost of winning the approval of a stranger is baring those who placed trust in you as sacrifice, are you winning at all? (Hint: NO.)

2. If someone trusts you, don’t betray his/her trust.

It’s wrong. If you’re trusted with something that could potentially hurt someone, don’t use that to actually hurt him or her — especially when it is something like a nude photo that can haunt them for the rest of their lives. You know what they say: What happens on the Internet never goes away and will follow you no matter where you try and run.

3. Don’t do anything behind a computer screen that you wouldn’t do in person.

For some reason that I can’t even begin to understand, people are able to take on entirely different personalities while in front of a keyboard or when using their phones. Those who are shy suddenly become bold; those who are bullied become the bully. Perhaps this is part of the Internet’s appeal. It’s nice to play pretend to a certain extent. But, it stops being nice when you go too far in your boldness, and you start to become ruthless, doing things that you would never do to someone’s face.

It’s time to really be in control of your online social interactions.