by Russ Warner, CEO, ContentWatch-makers of Net Nanny
A new study reveals the shocking statistic that 88% of self-made sexually explicit images and videos that teens upload to social networking and other sites are stolen and uploaded by pornographers.
Young people are often unaware of how easy it is to copy a video or picture from Facebook and upload it somewhere else. Once something is on the Internet, you no longer control it. Even if you remove the original, all copies remain.Thus, nothing is safe.
One teen had her phone stolen, and later discovered explicit photos of herself online.
Teens who upload suggestive photos or videos don’t seem to realize that it could have an impact on their future. It is now becoming commonplace for college admissions boards and potential employers to search for applicants online, and those who have inappropriate content posted are often rejected.
But teens don’t have to wait until they grow up to suffer the consequences. The impact can be felt immediately, as teenagers discover that private photos and videos have been shared with strangers and pervs. Anyone caught in this practice tends to feel shame and embarrassment at being exposed. Some teens have gone as far as attempting suicide; sadly, some succeed.
Of course, all of this could be prevented by not posting sexually-explicit images in the first place. Parents need to speak with their kids about posting information and images online; Parents also need to keep an eye on their teens’ online activity.
To this end, an Internet filtering solution could be used to keep track of when teens post on social networks and other sites. For more complete monitoring, SpectorSoft has a solution to track activity on smartphones or tablets.
I work for Net Nanny. The opinions expressed here are my own.
