Everyone Panic: Teens Are Sending Each Other Naked Photos On Camera Phones
from the really? dept
When I first read this article from the Associated Press about this new teen fad of teenagers using camera phones to send each other naked photos of themselves, I'll admit that I reacted exactly as the article's authors probably intended -- wondering what the hell kids are up to these days. However, is this really that surprising or shocking? At that age, kids do all sorts of stupid things, and if you hand them tools like camera phones that make it so easy, it's no surprise that some kids, somewhere will do things like pass around naked photos of each other (which, by the way, opens them up to charges of child pornography). Hell, kids have been "playing doctor" for ages, and it didn't necessarily warrant a writeup in the Associated Press.And, while the article does list out multiple such cases, there's no indication how widespread this really is. Yes, there are some kids out there who do stupid, impulsive things (especially when it involves members of the opposite sex that they're interested in), and hopefully people realize these are just isolated incidents. But, somehow, I get the feeling we'll soon be hearing people suggesting that this is a "common occurrence" rather than just a few isolated incidents. So, really, the story here is that there are some kids out there that don't have the best judgment, and sometimes a small number of those kids do stupid things. It just so happens that, these days, those stupid things can involve being naked on the internet.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: kids, mobile phones, naked pictures, photos
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
This is nothing new
Was this a concern when E-Mail first started?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
> persons, in jest or not, could get you attention from the
> authorities.
Let them attend. There's still something called the 1st Amendment in this nation. It hasn't been repealed quite yet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What is slightly more shocking is the kind of thing i used to encounter when i worked for a telecoms company. We provided an MMS picture message service to a TV company were viewers could send in pics to be shown on the TV with a message. A rather high percentage of the photos sent in were teens sending naked pictures of them self to be shown on the TV. It was all moderated so i doubt any of them got on the TV but loads were sent in every day.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hmmmmmmmmmm
These are underage kids, you pervs! Someone get there PII and send the cops to their houses.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hmmmmmmmmmm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Hmmmmmmmmmm
How ironic that you would post such a response....ROFL.
Wonders never cease.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Hmmmmmmmmmm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Hmmmmmmmmmm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Hmmmmmmmmmm
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"Just isolated incidents."
Yeah, sounds real isolated.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: "Just isolated incidents."
We shouldn't be concerned that she did it - we shouldn't even be surprised.
The boyfriend, however, should get the ol' "Distribution of child pornography" banstick.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: "Just isolated incidents."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
naked
im naked every day when i shower and while you probably wouldnt want to see it, i dont think its newsworthy
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: naked
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
How Far Has the Pendulum Swung?
Stop making showing skin an offense. Showing it off should hardly be described as "deviant" -- inappropriate is even a stretch. That 20 yr old forwarding possibly private photos is certainly not a teen, and that behavior is significantly different than "taking" the pictures.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Kids...
In the words of Cartman: "What's the big f***ing deal, b*tch?"
Sorry, I just wanted some vulgarity. Seriously though, this sort of thing happens all the time, and has been for some time, in various formats. The only difference now is that we are dealing with something that can be duplicated ad infitum with the click of a button.
I think this quote from the article summarizes it well:
"Psychologists said the phenomenon reflects typical teenage hormones and lack of judgment, with technology multiplying the potential for mischief. It also may reflect a teenage penchant for exhibitionism, as demonstrated on MySpace and countless other Web sites and blogs."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
But to charge for child porn, people don't THINK what they're going to do the kid before they up and charge them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
OOps
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
What does urk me is the double standard. in the article the a boy was charged for sending pics of himself and then other boys were charged for uploading the pics. why weren't any girls charged?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Oh my god!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Oh my god!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Down the Road
Talk to your kids now. It is a big deal.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Down the Road
So if our president had taken photos of himself when he was a child then...what? ...reality folds in? The "terrorists" win?
Australia invades the US? Someone shows up with them to try to make him/her look bad, but ultimately just gets themselves in jail for child pornography and in some mysterious way this ruins the new president's life?
I just don't get where your going with this.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Down the Road
Do parents need to make sure their kids know that doing dumb things now may lead to problems later? Absolutely.
Is this a sign that our kids are morally corrupt and society is going to hell and that these kids should be charged with distributing child porn? That's a tougher question.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Pics
You know not much bad stuff is happening in the world when this is newsworthy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Seriously...
all these things are so minor when compared to teen DRUGS, BINGE DRINKING & VIOLENCE
the media really needs help on its priorities
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Seriously...
I guess CNN would've loved to have caught wind of them goings on.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Not really. At least in the US, it's pretty uncommon to find pay phones in public places anymore. The ubiquity of cell phones is one of the major contributing factors. But the reality is, in the current nanny-minded world that we live in, parents want their kids to have cell phones. It means that they have the ability to get ahold of them any time and in any place, and therefore (goes the thinking) nothing bad can ever happen to them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I'm sure some people think that way - obviously not you - but on the other hand this week I came across the scene of a bicycle-car accident. I was the second person there, and the car driver was already on the phone to 911 (or maybe had already called 911 and was calling someone else). The victim's father was contacted immediately, and I think the driver's family as well. My point is, cell phones ensure there are communication options after something bad happens.
Even so, they can help prevent bad things too. I don't have teens yet, but when I do I plan to give them phones and tell them to call any time of day or night if they need help. Get away from a party it turns out they don't want to be at, avoid riding with friends who have been drinking, broken down car, etc etc. Wanting your kids to be able to contact you doesn't imply an overly protectionist attitude. Although perhaps wanting to be able to call them at any time might... interesting change of perspective when you switch who's doing the calling.
And as someone else said, I know there are middle schools with no pay phones, and no office phone available to students. If parents want their kids to be able to call home (and why wouldn't they?) they must have a cell phone, or hope their friends have one and are around.
IMO, having a cell phone is purely a good thing. Which does not mean it's not possible to do bad things with it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
ZMG NOOO
Seriously teenagers are walking sex organs... don't destroy their lives with sex offender charges. Juvenille court and hall exist so that dumb things you do as a kid don't permanantly destroy your life. And as a teen anything you do will have some sexual connotations. Not saying its right, just saying it doesn't need to be blown out of proportion by technophobes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I don't get the problem
And then when I got broadband in college there was the use of webcams to share an "explicit" moment with someone on the other end.
This is nothing new. Every teen goes after something sexual and depending on their personality they'll express it differently.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I don't get the problem
it really paid off for me now in the real world cause i can type really fast one handed
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
As someone who is college aged...
If kids are doing this with camera phones...it's probably because they're doing it without the phones.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
12-year olds needing phones
actually there are fewer and fewer public phones available. They (supposedly) aren't cost-efficient given the availability of mobile telephony, so, actually to that part of your point, No.
Regarding phones at home, many U.S. households are abandoning the traditional home landline. As users upgrade to cable, DSL, and fiber services they are presented with the choice of adding the voice application as part of the package. Many, having that mobile phone, don't see the point of paying the additional money for yet another application that may not work as well as their tried and true phone. I had heard AT&T public policy people predict voice as "just another app" in a VoIP world, but had never considered how that would play out in people's homes. Why add yet another service to a monthly bill? Even if that service is the equivalent of the "home telephone".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Just about every cell phone has one of those infernal cameras built into them whether you want it or not. Who was really surprised by this story? ... nobody thats been awake for the last 15 years. It's about the same as reporting that the Sun rose in the East this morning. What a waste of bandwidth.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nudity...
Biologically speaking, when a person reaches puberty, their body declares "ready for breeding" and their hormones reflect it.
Where did we integrate the asinine backwards bullshit idea of arbitrary ages representing "maturity"? There are plenty of immature 40y/o, and certainly a number of very mature younger folks. These backwards puritan bullshit beliefs are damaging to society as a whole, and should be re-examined (and forgotten entirely) in that context.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Nudity...
Right about the time that we decided that we needed to "protect the children." Actually, it's scientifically demonstrable that parts of the brain are still undergoing development until people reach their early 20's. One of the major areas still being developed is the part that deals with abstract thinking and the consequences of actions. So is it any surprise that people statistically tend to be less responsible until they get older?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Nudity...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Nudity...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
In Europe, people tend to be a lot less prudish.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It's your kid...
My brother is a teacher, and it is sad to see how many children he interacts with on a daily basis that don't have "the fear of God" in them as I did when I was a child... these kids have no respect or regard for themselves or anyone else...
Hopefully parents will see the error of their ways and do something positive to correct their child's behavior. Children are not born with these manners/ideas, they are raised with them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Not Always a bad thing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
no way!
Really. I must have missed that one..........
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Out-dated ideas
Its RIDICULOUS to charge people with child pornography for that. On the widescale, people seem to think that punishment= deterrence, but often they're wrong. People get speeding tickets everyday, but no one stops speeding. Equally, teens, raging in hormones as we are (I can attest to that) will do what we will. There are bigger problems in US society than sexual tendencies of teenagers.
As for cell phones- they are a major disruption to the school environment, but beyond that, we're not talking about a problem. Where I live, I rarely see payphones, and its not even about parents checking in on their kids, its about people communicating. Before you get your license, you need to often call for rides- parents or friends who do. (And those of you who say walk or take the bus, I live in Maine, public trans sucks, and you're talking a 5 mile hike to the movie theater)
And whether people want to see this or not, we're are living in a world where younger people are being required to live like adults. Teenagers need to get jobs to afford things, need to get licenses to get places, and now even get charged like adults. So if we're being treated like adults, then do it EQUALLY- stop trying to be so protective then- if we have to take responsibility for jobs then give us the freedom to go with it. We are may be young, but we're not always stupid. If two 20-year olds can swap nudes and not be charged with anything, then so should two 16-year olds- if we're all treated the same.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Out-dated ideas
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Out-dated ideas
And not wanting to be drawn into the child sexuality debate (which in any event is not really a technology discussion)..
But I did want to comment on the post from the young gentleman from Maine. Not about his actual comments, of which I was ever so broadly in disagreement, but on the fact that the young man was able to add to the conversation.
Again, while I did not particularly agree wholeheartedly with him, the young man presented his arguments on a level at least as high as many of the "adult" commenters.
Would this have happened 20 years ago?
Children did certainly debate within their families, churches, schools, etc; but it would have been the very singular little boy or girl who have had a letter to the editor published.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Were you not informed?!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
As our society grows we push ages back more and more and make people feel less and less mature. Children have a natural place in life, as do adults. But teenagers are relatively new, and no, they are not accepted. Naturally they'd feel "misunderstood" and "lonely" which would cause anyone -of any age- to make stupid or hasty decisions. Especially when those decisions seemingly get them some acceptance. You post a nude picture on the internet, lots of people tell you you're hot, you feel good. You feel worth something.
So yeah, again, this is nothing new. Anyone with a sex drive is eligible for this kind of thing.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Panic that these kids are treated as felons..
As a parent, I want to teach my kids better. But I also recognize (as should the law) that there's a huge difference between a teenager sharing naked pictures with their teenage boy/girlfriend and sharing them with some 40 year old guy.
Stop "thinking of the children" and let me take care of my own kids.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Parenting
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
OMG
Seriously. This has been going on since camera phones were mainstream like 7 years ago. Get with the times.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The World Needs Strippers too
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
CNN Reporting...
Please...:::sarcasm:::
My wife is surprised that my siblings and I even survived puberty with all of the stupid, adolescent crap we pulled.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Teens are getting it harder nowadays....
But, as yazoo pointed out, are teenage blunders so much more frequent or serious than the ones committed by adults? Aren't there whole sites of amateur nude pics and sex videos that are posted out of revenge by disgruntled ex-partners? Nobody really cares, unless the people involved are high profile. The only reason people care about this is because the people here are "children" (IMO children != teen != adult), who need to be protected from the unrelenting hordes of paedophiles who abuse and exploit them through their pictures with their evil voodoo gazes of lust.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Teens are getting it harder nowadays....
"You can only be young once. But you can always be immature."
Dave Barry (1947 - )
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Impossible!
What's next, teenagers having sex? Or, God forbid, smoking pot?
I think the first thing we need are congressional hearings, and then a full investigation by the Department of Homeland Morality. I'm sure there's some connection to terrorism, so the NSA should be granted unhindered power to tap these teenagers' cellular phones. We don't want the smoking gun to be a *gasp* NAKED VIDEO. Oh, and clearly they are getting the idea for these naked cellphone pictures from the Iranians, so we better bomb them RIGHT AWAY!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Try them as adults
That is right, they should be tried as adults for taking underage pictures of themselves.
I don't care how stupid and senseless it is, they deserve to be punished as an adult for the mistakes they make as an underage yet sexually mature mammal attempting to procreate.
/sarcasm
What I find more hilarious than anything else is how people get more upset about the kid sending pictures to her boyfriend than the fact that they usually only send pictures like this to people they are having sex with already.
It's like a picture is worse than doing it in person.
The boyfriend can go to prison for decades for the naked picture of the girl they are having sex with, but have no jail time for the sex. The whole thing is bizarre.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That means if I'm walking in the right place at the right time, IMAGES OF NAKED CHILDREN WILL FLOW THROUGH MY BRAIN.
This has to be stopped.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
no links pls - no jokes either
http://www.kansascity.com/273/story/634522.html.
Carnivore is watching you.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Same old thing, new tool?
So the last issue that I see is, should these kids be charged with child pornography? Yes, not just because it is in fact child pornography, but also because they are under the age of 18, at such an age, they are not fully responsible for their actions so they don't get all of the rights. Also changing the law on this issue, would require extreme work, and incredible caution because there are just a lot of perverse and disgusting people out there, and some are willing and ready to take full advantage of any child pornography they can.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Cell Phones
The other issue is that I think that child porn should only be illegal for 18+ aged people. If i am 16, and I somehow have a picture of a 16 year-old, is that really all that perverted? I would just be interested in someone my age.
A child porn charge ruins your life, forget being a teacher, a police officer, CIA, government, all of that is gone. It shouldnt even be happening.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
kids don't NEED phones
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Haven't you noticed yet that normal rules don't apply when "child pornography" is involved. When dealing with even the hint of CP, it's; ruin the person's life first, ask questions later.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ugh.
Oh, my second cousin has had a cell phone since he was 3. That is a perfect example of something that needs to stop like right now, argh.
That said, does this excuse them for their actions? Nah, but I don't think that they should be tried for it. Like someone else said, we have juvie for this stuff. Plus it's garbage that it seems to be only boys getting in trouble for it, most of the teenage girls I know nowadays are WAY worse than the guys.
That said, have any of you ever been to places like, say, tinypic? Go hit random and see what sorts of crap you get involving 12~18 year olds. It's depressing.
I'm big on morality, but legislating it doesn't do anything, it's just a parental issue and we can't really do anything about it as a whole until the government finally decides to require procreation licenses. =)
Sorry, my thoughts got kinda scattered, but I think I got my message across...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Think of it this way...
It's your choice parents... Have your little girl send a picture to a guy she obviously trusts and likes, or have her go out and have sex at a party with a guy she might have just met. Your choice, personally, I'd choose the obvious.
And plus, it's been like this for a long time.. Just not as digital. Think about it.. Have you ever looked at a naked picture before when you were younger? I bet you wish you could see that really cute girl/boy you knew the same way. It's not like that's a crime. But now you can. It's stupid that it's against the law. The kids made a decision themselves. The person who sent it is more at blame then the recipient. Use your brains now people..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
alright, look..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
person
now here is david a dude it the hotest boy ever the jonas brothers suck dicks oh i hate the jonas brothers ok honey i love you all love you bye
.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
everyone panic
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A teenagers point of view
Ok at first, teens do this kind of thing all the time its nothing new and its quite surprising that adults or "the man" has only just started to find out some of the things we do (by we i mean teens aged 15-19) and the main reason for it is beacuse its just another way of expressing ourselves, i mean think about, if "weed" were to become legal, half the people who smoke it would stop beacuse the "thrill" so to speak of doing something that would p*** your parents off would be gone.
Back to the topic, i must input though that teenage couples only tend to send explict pictures of themselves to each when they feel completely comfortable with each other, so its not like, girl meets guy, girls sends pic, guy ditches girl and sends picture(s) to everybody he knows.
The kind of people who send private pictures around the world are nothing but low-life flithy scum.
At the end of the day, adults need to start incorperating teens into todays growing society, beacuse we are the ones that will be taking over from you and you'll want from us beacuse of what you think you have provided all that teens and young people need, when its quite clear to the public that all adults have provided teens is a "tag" (Referred to as chavs, hoodies and yobs) All words thats adults have labelled us as.
thats all im going to say at this point but if you wish to continue this topic of "Young people and teenagers" then your free to email me at kieran_5@msn.com and i will be happy to converse with any of you.
Thanks for reading.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
YOU MUST BE INSANE!!!!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]