Teenagers and Privacy

Fox News reports on a disturbing trend:

Forget about passing notes in study hall; some teens are now using their cell phones to flirt and send nude pictures of themselves.

The instant text, picture and video messages have become part of some teens’ courtship behavior, police and school officials said.

The messages often spread quickly and sometimes find their way to public Web sites.

“I’ve seen everything from your basic striptease to sexual acts being performed,” said Reynoldsburg police Detective Brian Marvin, a member of the FBI Cyber Crime Task Force of Central Ohio. “You name it, they will do it at their home under this perceived anonymity.”

While Fox News does sensationalize its reports even more than other media outlets, I would not be surprised if this were true.

Imagine growing up in a world where secrets and privacy do not exist. Imagine growing up in a world where everyone knew everything about you. Imagine growing up in a world where sexuality is increasingly acceptable — even for pre-teens and schoolchildren. Imagine that you have had the Internet for your entire life. This is the world in which today’s teenagers are living.

As a result of Facebook, MySpace, Google, and every other Internet utility, everyone’s life is now an open book (at least for those who choose to make it so). Since teenagers have always had the Internet, it is extremely natural for them to use it to the fullest extent possible because they have never known a different world. And since they are young, they do not understand the ramifications.

One case in point: Disney actress Vanessa Hudgens (of “High School Musical” fame) caused a furor when she sent a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend, and it found its way online (of course). (No, that link does not go to the photo itself, and I’m not going to look for it either.) When teenagers combine their naive comfort with technology with a lax attitude towards sexuality, this is what naturally results. (Although sometimes the attention is not even the person’s fault: Allison Stokke, a high-school pole vaulter, became an overnight sensation after photos of her were placed online.)

The solution, of course, is for parents to talk to their children about the dangers of technology. When parents do not discuss sex and birth control with their teenagers, they are more likely to have unsafe sex and become pregnant. When parents adopt puritanical attitudes towards sex, that usually makes children rebel and pursue the other extreme. When parents believe that their precious daughter (or son) would never place provocative photos of themselves on the Internet, they should think twice.

Once something is on the Internet, it is there forever. This is the world in which we now live.