Inappropriate Use...

In a conversation with a teen this summer, it was my understanding that he was not fully aware of the legal ramifications for inappropriate pictures on snap chat and other forms of social / digital media. He mentioned that almost all the kids his age do it, and wasn't sure why some of the girls did what they did because it seemed they were just trying to get positive feedback from guys. I talked with him about how things like that can be screen shot and shared with anyone and everyone, and I also talked about how it is sexting and illegal. It seems that some students don't understand that "sexting" isn't just showing their privates, but showing themselves partially clothed can fall into that category as well. They don't seem to understand everything that can be done with these photos and the information, so educating our young people is so very important!

Your experience with this teen reminded me of a video that showed a young girl who actually committed suicide because of a picture that she shared with her boyfriend.  At the high school that I work at, bullying is usually the topic for our Advisory class.  This is a special class that we use to help students cope with different topics that may arise.  This young girl was harassed out of many schools, was ostracized from her peers and friendship circles, and eventually could not take it anymore and ended her life.  This video also included a forum of age appropriate students that talked openly about this subject, and how they felt about this girl and how this girl handled/or did not handle the pressure she was put under, after (her classmates) students texted, tweeted, shared her picture, and outright harassed her to death.  This video also included a video that the harassed girl created and was her “plea” for help.  She did not get help.  She ended her life.