Teens Sending Nude Pictures Through Cell Phones

Its clear that text messages are a convenient and popular way of contacting friends and family, but what many unsuspecting parents don’t realize is that many teens are sending nude pictures of themselves through their cell phones.  Police officials warn that the messages spread quickly and sometimes wind up on public web sites.  Reynoldsburg police Detective Brian Marvin of the FBI Cyber Crime Task Force of Central Ohio states, “I’ve never seen everything from your basic striptease to sexual acts being performed.” 

A California teacher, Candice Kelsey, is the author of Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence says that many teenage girls believe that the only way to get a boys attention is to send them erotic pictures of themselves.  She says “This happens a lot…It crosses every racial socio-economic group.  Christian kids are doing it.  Jewish kids are doing it,” even guys are doing it.  One high school student in Ohio sent a sexual cell phone video to one of his female classmates who then forwarded the video to over 30 other people.

Jean Twenge, of San Diego State University states “Adolescents are not known for thinking things trough – that’s a generational constant…Now, with the technology that is out there, instead of taking a picture and passing it around the classroom, its online, which is a whole different ball game.  (Teens) don’t see it that way.”