Alarming number of teens e-mail nude photos of themselves

Vanessa Hudgens and the Cheetah Girls' Adrienne Bailon aren't the only ones with racy pictures popping up. A survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com found 22 percent of all teen girls say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves.

The report, being released today, shows that this is a national trend that is even larger among young adults (ages 20-26) where one-third said they have posted or sent racy images of themselves, and almost half have received them.

Any parent who thinks their child would never do it better think again if they haven't talked about it with their kids. That seems to be the real trick here. We never had to deal this issue as kids so many parents don't even think to talk about it. The teen, in a moment of horsing around, lifts her shirt and e-mails a picture. She clearly isn't thinking ahead. They don't think about how fast an image can get forwarded around the Web or that they might one day break up with this boy. Then they find out the hard way that nothing in cyberspace ever dies, that it can haunt them when they apply for college or a job.

Have this talk now, folks. Today.

Here are some tips from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy:

Talk to your kids about what they are doing online
Make sure they understand that messages or pictures they send over the Internet or their cell phones are not truly private or anonymous. Talk about the how the image can get forwarded to people they do not know. College administrators and employers often look at online profiles to make judgments about potential hires or aspiring students. They need to see the short-term and long-term consequences of their actions.

Get on their "friend" list
If you don't know what that is, you aren't on Facebook with your kids. It's vital you know who your kids are communicating with online, just like you do IRL (that's "in real life" for you fogeys), so get over worries that you are being a snoop or a nag. Check out your teen’s MySpace, Facebook and other public online profiles from time to time. If everyone else can look at it, why can't you?

Set limits
You can still limit the time your kids spend online and on the phone with simple rules like telling your teen to leave their phone on the kitchen counter when they’re at home and to take the laptop out of their bedroom before they go to bed, so they won’t be tempted to log on or talk to friends later.

Set standards
This includes the boys not forwarding any racy photos they get and immediately deleting them. Just as certain clothes, movies or behaviors are off limits in your home, talk about what language and behavior is allowed online. It doesn't hurt to remind them from time to time about your expectations and be unafraid to pull out the old chestnut "So if all your friends were jumping off the Skyway Bridge..." You know the rest. Share these tips for teens with your kids.

-- Sharon Kennedy Wynne

[Photo: photos.com]

Comments

[Deborah]

Good morning,
Girls (and boys)must not send racy or nude photos of themselves over the internet. Cyber predators search for victims, they may assume that if your child is already willing to pose nude, the next step will be easy for them. According to Oprah, cyber predators will send photos they find on the internet to everyone on their email list,and those cyber predators will forward to their email list, in minutes your child's photo could reach thousands of pedophiles !
SafeWave.org has a safe website for kids, they register through their school to ensure identity- no 50 year old man can pose as a 13 year old. The site is monitored preventing inappropriate photo's from being posted.
Cyber predators are searching the net for victims do what you can to keep kids safe.

[Janet]

Unfortunately when a photo is on cyberspace it never leaves cyberspace ! Most colleges and workplaces do a google/myspace/facebook etc. check before acceptance/hiring, the girls are too young to comprehend their action or the consequences.
Add to that cyber predators petending to be their age,the stage is set for a dangerous situation.
Take the internet seriously talk to your kids AND get the computer out of their bedroom now !

[Malik]

People getting nude and sending there own pics through mails should not be treated as they have commited a crime. The fact that this sort of nature should be treated as if it is a deases and acure should be put in place. People who are going through harsh life may have the tendancy to do so, but each and every one of us should ask him/her self , why it is happening? do the parents or relevant person knows that his/her kid is realy walking on that path?. let us help others rather than cretizing them. It is true that worst things are happening in this life, but we should also consider thr reason behind them.

[becca]

GIRLS, listen up. Don't trade your dignity for fifteen minutes(or less)of quasi-fame. You are not Paris, you are not Brittany, you are perfectly fine just the way you are.

The pimping out of our children begins on Madison Avenue and ends through the relentless sexism in commercials via every medium available.

Wise up, and stop being used like you were a hunk of junk. RESPECT YOURSELVES, and the rest will follow.

[CAUTION!!!!YOUR HEARTS WORST ENEMY]

IF THESE TEENS ARE SENDING THESE PICTURES TO ADULTS, I THINK THE ADULTS WHO ARE RECIEVING THE PHOTOS AND SAYING IT IS OKAY, SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES FOR EVEN ASKING OR LOOKING AT IT. AND IF YOU'RE THE SENDER, WHAT'S THE POINT OF YOU SENDING IT? TO PROVE YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL OR SOMETHING? IT PROBABLY IS JUST BECAUSE THEY SEE STARS DOING IT AND PARENTS IF YOUR CHILD IS DOING THIS THEY MOST LIKELY GOT THE IDEA FROM THE STARS THEY ADMIRE AND LOVE. TO ME PERSONALLY I THINK THE SOULUTION IS YOU SHOULD STOP YOUR CHILDREN FROM LOOKING AT THE CELEBRATIES YOU ALREADY KNOW ARE DOING THE NUDE AND UNAPPROPRIATE THINGS.THAT WOULD PREVENT YOUR CHILD FROM TRYING TO BE A CLONE OF THEM.

[tiffany louise]

I think that this peice was a good topic. Too many young girls are taking bad pictures of themselves not thinking of it and posting it. But think about it, the girls that are doing it that are like 15 years old see their favorite star on the ccomputer doing it so they think its okay. Those girls the so called super stars like Adrienne Bailon need to tell the younger girls that it's not okay and to tell them what the right thing is! That is what i think should be done. I also think that all of the young girls that have posted pictures of themselves should go to a rehab for taking photos of themselves and how to stop.It might just help out!

[Just a thought]

If a college professor, administrator, etc. or an employer sees these pics and recognizes an applicant, makes me wonder WHY they've seen them and would you want your kid attending that college or work for that person?