Many young and vulnerable teenagers have admitted to sharing personal photos and information on social networking sites like Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. The craze for innovative selfies has led many of them to even click semi-nude or nude photos and share it with their close friends. The problem is, if these photos ever gets leaked publicly into social networking sites, they become viral. There have been many cases where criminals (juveniles themselves) have blackmailed young and innocent teens based on these pictures.
Yet another dangerous trend among teens is that while they start experimenting with sex, they are also shooting videos of the act. Here again the danger is, if it leaves the person’s phone, it can spread virally. There is a huge industry that laps up child porn and sex videos online. They are always on the lookout for such content.
We never know what we will get sucked into. Be smart — do not share intimate photos on social networking sites. That’s very dangerous. Keep your personal life strictly private.
The writer is an academic researcher and the founder of Teenage Foundation.
