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Teens and Cell Cams: Striking a Pose?

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 June 2008, 12:00 CDT

Many families preserve history through photos. Often, a trip to grandma's would seem incomplete without a trip down memory lane via the big book of pictures.

These days, electronic media dominates everything from the way we listen to music, communicate and save images. Almost every cell phone has a built-in camera, which has some parents concerned -- for good reason.

According to a recent report by the Associated Press, more and more teens are taking inappropriate photos of themselves, often wearing little or no clothing, and sending them to prospective boyfriends or girlfriends. More worrisome, these photos, once on the Internet, are accessible to practically anyone.

And it's not just troubled inner-city teens doing the dirty downloads.

Alana Scott, a 2006 graduate of Tahlequah High School and an honors psychology student at Northeastern State University, shed harsh light on the teen cell-cam nudie photo rage.

"This is real," she said. "I have heard of it happening at Tahlequah High School and other schools around the state. However, there's no way for the schools to monitor this kind of activity. All the schools have done is provide teenagers with friends. The actual issue takes place in the homes of these adolescents. The schools have every right to punish their students when the pictures get out, if they can determine the origin and distribution of the photos."

One mother of two sons, "Mary," agreed with Scott, but asked to remain anonymous due to the nature of the topic.

"I believe this sort of thing goes on 'around here,'" she said. "As you recall, some students used cell phones to video a fight at THS and placed it YouTube. Some copycats followed. Keys Schools banned cell phone possession -- at least in the elementary school -- because students staged fights, etc., and sent pictures to parents who didn't know at the time it was set up."

Mary said while her younger son says he does not know of anyone who takes nude self-portraits and sends them via the Internet, her college-age son has "heard of it happening."

In fact, three cases are known to have occurred at THS during the past school term. Two cases were handled privately by the parents, although school officials were aware of at least one incident.

A parent of a teen who received a photo, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the "amateur shutterbug" was "a top student -- someone you'd never think would do anything like this." The parents of the photographer, the parent added, were "appalled" when they learned what their child had done.

Why would a young person do something that could be so detrimental over the long run?

"Who the heck knows?" said Mary. "Raging hormones, lack of complete thought process and [access to] technology. Also, all the crap they're exposed to in the media and video games makes it seem, at least for the brief nanosecond they are thinking about the repercussions, 'normal,' 'exciting,' and 'grown up.'

Scott concurred, saying teens are exposed to myriad images these days that aren't always appropriate.

"It seems as though this generation of adolescents does not have much shame or moral boundaries," said Scott. "Whether this is a result of parenting or media influences is hard to say, but students do not seem to be learning the same moral code as past generations. When stars like Rhianna dance around the stage half-naked, what keeps teenagers from thinking they can't take pictures in similar outfits -- or less?"

Former District Attorney Dianne Barker-Harrold pointed out the long-term effects of having explicit photos on the Web can be dangerous, as well as embarrassing.

"Those photos, once on the Web, are there not only for view by friends, but child and sexual predators are just waiting to access them and find the subject of those photos to prey upon them," she said. "Once on the Web, removing them is next to impossible. If these kids would just take a moment to pay attention to so many famous folks who have had photos and other things, taken in their youth, come back and haunt them and ruin lives, damage their reputations, cost them their jobs, awards and titles all for a moment of indiscretion, they might think twice before snapping that shot."

Scott also believes youth engaging in this activity think very little before hitting the "send" button.

"The real tragedy with this issue is the long-term effects this could have on the teenager and his or her future relationships," she said. "For instance, how would a future spouse feel if these kinds of photos or videos of their loved ones suddenly turned up?"

According to the AP report, cases of teens taking "nudie" photos on their cell phones have surfaced in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Alabama, Utah, Pennsylvania and Texas. Occasionally, teens face a run-in with law enforcement, as transmitting such material over the Internet is a federal crime.

A 17-year-old La Crosse, Wis., boy was charged with child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and defamation for allegedly posting nude photos of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend on his MySpace page. The girl had taken the photos with her cell phone and e-mailed them to the boyfriend, authorities said.

An Oklahoma teen accused of using his cell phone camera to record a 16-year-old girl performing oral sex on him was charged with manufacturing and distributing child pornography as recently as March of this year. Eighteen-year-old Kylem Lamont Carter not only recorded the event, but shared the video with several students, according to the AP. Carter is facing up to 20 years in prison on each count if convicted. At the time of the report, Carter had not yet been arrested.

Barker-Harrold has very little use for Web sites like MySpace, saying they "have a great deal of potential for bad things to happen."

Author and middle-school teacher Candice M. Kelsey believes it's up to parents to understand the world in which their teens navigate. Kelsey wrote "Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescents," and spent several years researching the social network and its affect on her students.

In the introduction, Kelsey spoke specifically about one student, a shy, demure female whose online personality was a cross between "gangsta girl" and stripper. "When I got into bed, I couldn't help but wonder if I had been on the wrong MySpace page," wrote Kelsey. "There was no way this avatar represented the Jennifer I knew each day in class. Deep inside, I knew it was true. But I was left with the nagging question: Who are these kids, really?"

Kelsey asked one of her more astute sophomore girls which identity is real: the one she sees at school or the one displayed "brazenly" on the Internet. "She promised me that for most kids, the MySpace profile is the most honest. I have to admit I still have a hard time believing that," wrote Kelsey.

Kelsey believes it's important for parents of even young children to understand things have changed drastically in the world of media, and encourages them to read her book to gain a little insight. She said parents who want to know what their teens are doing must have a working knowledge of MySpace and its clones.

"MTV is so yesterday, and e-mail is clip-clopping its way into the sunset," she wrote. "This book ... will offer sound resources, helpful tools, wise advice and practical strategies for dealing with your Generation MySpace teenager."

GET INVOLVED

Candice M. Kelsey, author of "Generation MySpace" discusses a number of safety issues concerning teens and social Web sites in her book, including:

--Whether parents should find and access their child's personal Web page.

--How to assess your child's involvement and risk.

--A glossary of popular instant messaging and online slang terms, acronyms and other online language.

--How to talk successfully to your child about online social networking.

--Practical steps for navigating MySpace.com.

--Guidelines for blocking, monitoring or limiting MySpace usage.

--Innovative ways to protect children from Internet predators.

Source: Tahlequah Daily Press

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