Kids Sending Nude Pics On Cell Phones

Technology is wonderful, but more and more examples are coming to light about how it can become a dangerous tool in the hands of those not mature enough to handle it.

Junior and High school crushes and fledgling romances have been a part of growing up for centuries. Before the advent of technology, it was a relatively harmless and pleasurable pastime. You passed a mushy note to a member of the opposite sex that you fancied; or you had rambling hour-long private conversations on the phone without actually saying anything much. It was cute; and a source of tolerant amusement for parents.

No longer. Kids don’t pass notes anymore; they send and receive text messages on their cell phones. And not just messaging. Multi-Media Messaging, which is available even on the most basic cell phones these days, makes it absurdly simple to send photos and home videos with just a click on the keypad.

Coincidentally or otherwise, the rise of technology seems to be inversely proportional to moral values. Young girls no longer show a glimpse of stocking to their boyfriends, they have no qualms about allowing boyfriends to see their nude bodies. And it’s not just in the privacy of bedrooms. Nowadays, teenagers are snapping naked pictures and videos of themselves on their cell phones and sending them to their boyfriends and girlfriends.

Even that would be no big deal in an age where teenage sexual encounters have become the norm, rather than the exception. The real danger lies in the fact that many of these photos are falling into the wrong hands. It could be a laughably simple accident. Press the wrong address key and yr nude picture or video wings its way to an unintended recipient. And if the unintended recipient is commercially minded, he can make a nice bundle hawking it. Revenge can be another motive. If you girlfriend dumps you, what better way to stick it to her than circulating her nude photos to everyone at school?

Not surprisingly, many of the kids are not mature enough to realize that, not only are they damaging a classmate’s reputation, they are laying themselves open to criminal charges. It is illegal to transmit pornographic images, no matter how innocent the intention may have been.

Some parents are aghast. "I just don’t understand why kids would do a stupid thing like that," said Rochelle Hoins of Castle Rock, Colorado, where 18 students in her twin sons’ middle school sent around nude pictures of themselves last year. "We did dumb things when we were kids, but not like that." School administrators in Santa Fe, Texas, confiscated dozens of cell phones from students in May after nude photos of two junior high girls began circulating. The girls had sent the photos to their boyfriends, who forwarded them to others

Personally I don’t think there is any solution to this problem. Once you unleash a certain technology, you cannot recall it. And cell phones are no longer just a fashion accessory. They have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. All parents can do is appeal to their children’s moral values and good judgment. Unfortunately, raging hormones and good judgment are rarely compatible.

AP