Teen Dating '08: Nude Pix On Cell Phones

Police Say Swapping X-Rated Photos To Flirt Common Among Teens

(AP)  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."

Westerville Central High School senior Jerome Ray said he's received such unsolicited messages, including one from a classmate while he was sitting with his girlfriend.

"A lot more girls are aggressive," said Ray, 18. "Some girls are crazy and they are putting themselves out there."

Candice Kelsey, a teacher from California, said some teenage girls think they have to be provocative to get boys' attention. As a result, they will send photos they hope their parents never see.

"This happens a lot," said Kelsey, author of Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence. "It crosses every racial socio-economic group. Christian kids are doing it. Jewish kids are doing it."

Male teens are also doing it.

For instance, a central Ohio high school teen made a sexual cell phone video of himself and sent it to female classmates. One of the girls forward the Westerville South High School's video to at least 30 other people.

A study last year found teens are placing more of an emphasis on image and fame than in the past. Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies young people's trends, found that teens are more confident and assertive than ever before.

"Adolescents are not known for thinking things through - that's a generational constant," she said. "Now, with the technology that is out there, instead of taking a picture and passing it around the classroom, it's online, which is a whole different ball game. (Teens) don't see it that way."

Mark Raiff, a principal at Columbus' Olentangy Liberty High School, said some of his students and their cell phones have caused trouble.

"They don't see anything wrong with it," he said. "It leaves me speechless."

[megamanx1-2009]

LOL

[matter77]

Stupid. Like driving 90mph on a winding rain-slicked two lane blacktop road late at night. Oh.. but it FEELS so good. Stupid.

[shanev137]

"Christian kids are doing it. Jewish kids are doing it."


--------



My guess is that those are the bulk of the ones doing it.

[gwagener]

Can you imagine getting stuck with the job of having to look at this stuff all day long like the detective mentioned?
I knew you could. ;o)

[bobnjersey]

so ... where''s the pictures?

[bgm19751]

Wow, are kids just getting more stupid by the day? The kids in the Lakeland and scores of other teen crimes making the news, and now this? I fear for the future when these kids become adults. Just look at all the troubles caused by people doing sexual and illegal stuff in their youth catching up to them. Or the mayor that had to step down when a provacative picture of her popped up on Myspace. Seriously, act professional and remember what you do in your youth will catch up with you,especially in this day and age.

[olebd]

I was born too early. Missed the boat by about 25-30 years, dang-blabbit! NONE of the girls I knew would have dared to do something like this. Nor were there any teachers I would have thought about doing illegal acts with. Sure, it was out there but, we wanted to be more discreet. I think kids today are less mature in mind but more mature in body.

[gypsyartist1]

I''m not shocked by this story. How long ago did they discover the teenage *** parties happening in Conyers, GA? Sending out nudes pics seems tame in comparison.

Where are the parents in all this??? Why are parents allowing this free-for-all? Is there no accountability... teens being responsible enough to use cell phones and parents monitoring their usage. Where did these teens get the idea that they need to be provocative (to this extreme)???

[tireslinger]

gypsyartist, do you have teenage children? I suspect not. I don''t care how vigalant a parent is in monitoring any aspect of their children''s day(s). A teenager WILL find a way to follow through on whatever their train of thought is, at that moment. Even the most attentive of parent''s, can only do so much to combat that "world revolves around me," mentality that teens have. I think that parent''s for the most part, do the best they can do with what they have.

[rushman71]

Why haven''t they outlawed the teen use of cell phones, period!!! Ahhh, that would suq now, wouldn''t it!!! I could hear them screaming, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
But seriously, why didn''t Motorola and other corporations take into thought that there were going to be some pretty bad kids (and adults) in this world using cell phones for perverted reasons.

[lovegetpeace]

Folks,
I am shocked that everyone is shocked about this story.

50 years ago, it was a shame and embarrassment to pose for Playboy magazine.

Today, girls cannot wait to pose for Playboy to get rich and famous.

Recently, the prostitute Ms. Dupre got the New York governor Mr. Spitzer to resign and got a reported 7 digits movie/book offers from Hollywood and Wall Street.

Almost everyday, I read about some famous girl having a baby but with no ''husband''. A famous Single Mom.

I would not be at all surprised if our teenagers start their own ''Teenage Playboy'' magazine to become famous.

[zendigity]

How dare those kids not be ashamed of their bodies!!!
Now the sky is going to fall!!!
We''re all doomed!!!

Finally a generation begins to put things into perspective...it''s JUST THEIR BODY PEOPLE; GET A GRIP!

[cgeller100]

Here is the deal - if this is done between consenting teens who know each other and is kept private between them, there is nothing wrong with it (but not during school hours becuase it is a distraction to learning). It is only when the pictures are sent unsolicited to people or placed on the internet for public viewing that it is a problem. The police should spend their time trying to prevent mass murder on school campuses rather than worrying about enforcing our 200 year old religious puritanical B.S.

[cgeller100]

Maybe if the human body wasn''t so repressed in our society and nudity wasn''t so taboo, teens wouldn''t have to resort to this

[cgeller100]

This is a matter of TASTE, not nudity. They shouldn''t do it to try to get boy''s attention with whom they don''t already have a relationship, not becuase nudity is bad, but because it is in poor taste; they certainly should not do it during school hours, not because nudity is bad, but because school is a place for learning, not flirting.

[cgeller100]

Shouldn''t the question we should be asking is why are they doing this in school instead of paying attention to school? As usual or priorities are all wrong - we''re worried about the nudity, instead of the fact that this is another example of how the culture of school in our society is no longer one of academic discipline and learning. THIS is where our focus should be, not on the nudity, but our stupid puritanical american society is wrong as usual

[cgeller100]

why are kids so bored in class they are doing this? maybe because of our 100 year old schoolhouse/farmhouse outdated educational system which is a complete anachronism in our society of instant gratification and a thousand distractions. School needs to be updated to reflect the times so students are interested in involved and not sending out cellphone pictures in class

[cgeller100]

whatsnext4u2, you are a complete idiot. You think it''s okay for child abusers to beat their kids? You think it''s okay for drunk lowlifes who shouldn''t have kids in the first place to come home and put burn marks on their kids, or twist their arms or hit them on their heads or with a strap? I"m sure right wing nuts like you would do away with child protective services completely, then when they grow up crazy becuase of the abuse, you would take away their mental health services and blame them. It''s a good thing people like you are not making the decisions

[missybelle-2009]

I don''t see anything wrong with what is going on, maybe if the human body wasn''t such a mystery, they might not e

[wango2007-2009]

More open nudity = more promiscuity = more dead babies through abortion.

Safe ***? Ha! A person who has so little respect for their own body as it send it around on a cell phone certainly doesn''t care about something like that.

These teens have such empty lives... so sad.

[tuckerdogavl]

LOOSE not lose. LOSE not LOOSE. What is wrong with people today? This is constant. It''s just as bad as the silent "T" after words with "N''s" ie innernet, elemennery, innerduction, experimennal....sloppy speech, sloppy grammar, no wonder these kids are sending piccures back and forth to one another. There are no role models. I''m going to loose my mind and spend some lose change on a piece of canny.

[cgeller100]

Apparently the right wing nuts think children are their "property" like slaves whom they can beat at will, rather than human citizens who are only on loan to them while they are children

[minkie4]

I can''t believe some high schoolars are doing this but i am a high school student and i don''t like how everyone thinks EVERY high school boy or girl does it. I don''t. I never have. Don''t judge people. one word: KARMA!

[minkie4]

msgtstever you seem to love this story. are you a stalker or s pedafile. ( don''t know how to spell it. )

[minkie4]

jjarden i agree with you but what about violence too. I mean a couple years ago teenagers didn''t have curfews or anything like that. The world is becoming a horrible place to live.

[jjarden]

Why is the word "Sexual" allowed in tuhe article..but when I wrote the word $ex in my response, it was censored.

How ridiculous!

HEY EDITORS...$ex is not a Swear You Dopes!!

[dogsoul]

"Apparently the right wing nuts think children are their "property" like slaves whom they can beat at will, rather than human citizens who are only on loan to them while they are children"

oh yeah - and liberals - who run public education which is the biggest reason it sux so bad - coddle kids out of some kind of nobody judges anybody, everything''s equal, tell me your feelings sort of hippie love fest - and guess what? They end up HURTING the very people they ''claim'' to care about so very much.... hmmmm - reminds me of - gee, I dunno - black people & the liberal welfare program?

You see folks, liberals don''t really care about what ACTUALLY works... they''re only interested in what makes them look & feel all warm & fuzzy in the very short term... and if that means enabling bad behavior which will harm people in the long run??? So be it - liberals will just blame somebody else...

Liberals - watch out kids, they''ll make you dumb & unproductive if they don''t mamage to abort you first.

[libsrweak]

the liberal media and the elite liberal masses ARE FIGHTING FOR THIER RIGHTS to condition society TO BE RECKLESS and not to be held accountable for our own actions.

reckless promiscuous sexual acts is the foundation of radical liberalism....and guess who pays for it in the end??

[minkie4]

i totaly agree. I''m the kind of girl i wear a t-shirt and jeans, everyday. People show up to school with their pants around their waste and shirts showing their chest. It''s unbelieveable!

[flajoe1]

Finally a generation begins to put things into perspective...it''''s JUST THEIR BODY PEOPLE; GET A GRIP!
----

Posted by zendigity at 03:17 PM

So you%u2019re saying you would not mind that my son received a photo from your daughter showing her going down on someone? You may want to re-read the article I''m not sure you understand all the info thats in it.

[shanev137]

Just hope grandma doesn''t answer little Tiffanys'' cell phone.


------------


With the way the laws are now, granny would probably go to jail for child abuse if she did that.

[gwagener]

When my Father began teaching High School in 1950, the most shocking thing kids did was chew gum, wear their hat indoors, or run the hallway.
-------------------------
Posted by jjarden at 04:42 PM : Apr 14, 2008

Oh pahleeze!
High school kids had *** in the 50s. They just weren''t so open about it as they are today.

[aseatonusa]

This is really scary especially since I have a teen who is always on his cell with his girlfriend. I have warned him several times about how the internet and the cell phone are no longer "private" and to be careful what his says and places on his site. Now, employers are taking note of what a child says about the parents and they can be fired for such "sayings".
If these individuals don''t realize the seriousness, how about this...From the legal side, do these girls/guys understand that photos like this can constitute as sexual harrassment and indecent exposure if the other party warrants? Also, they do not realize the seriousness enticing and becoming a victim of more serious crimes such as rape and not to mention "child molestation" (if under 18 in most states).

If you don''t want the "world to know" especially the parents, don''t do it. Nothing is private if it is in electronic media.

I really hate "children" pretending to be adults and not realizing the consequences.

[jjarden]

gwagener said...

"Oh pahleeze! High school kids had *** in the 50s. They just weren''''t so open about it as they are today."

gwagener...DID I say HS kids in the 50''s DIDN''T have ***? Go back and read my post, because you obviously didn''t the first time.

I said...

"When my Father began teaching High School in 1950, the most shocking thing kids did was chew gum, wear their hat indoors, or run the hallway."

Which was TRUE.

Are you saying that HS Kids in the 50''s HAD $ex in School?

That''s Nutty of You.

[hypnotoad72]

"courtship" is not sending nude pics of each other. That''s trolling for disease with one''s genitalia.

Why are these cell phones allowed in schools? Why can''t teachers confiscate them, and return them at day''s end if the child can''t be bothered to learn?

There''s a time and place for everything and cell phones have legitimate value. Especially when pay phones are virtually non-existent. During class is not such a place, nor time.

In the 1950s, there was a dress code, chewing gum meant a slap on the wrist, and lots of other things. Never mind people went to school to learn, not engage in idle gossip about other students, which didn''t help those students either...

As for radical liberalism, the problem far transcends sexuality. Trouble is, so-called liberals aren''t responsible for all this country''s ills, but they do play a significant part.

[shanev137]

High school kids had S E X in the 50s. They just weren''t so open about it as they are today.


---------


Yea right...hahahaha.

A girl in the 50''s was lucky if she had been french kissed by time she was 18.

Today, a girl is lucky if she is still a virgin by the time she starts middle school, and doesn''t have her porn video posted on the internet yet.

[lovegetpeace]

!Viva Capitalism!

If I get rich and/or famous by posing nude here or there, it''s acceptable under the rules of capitalism.

Capitalism ($$$) and Morals/Religions-who is winning?

[lovegetpeace]

50 years ago, you win your girlfriend/boyfriend via a long relationship of communication.

Today, the only acting part before going to bed is "your place or my place?" Then, after having a baby, "i want a divorce".

[questionnews]

Sorry Gramma.
I dial the wrong number, you wern''t supposed to see that. But, what do you think of my new nipple rings?

[hypnotoad72]

!Viva Capitalism!

If I get rich and/or famous by posing nude here or there, it''''s acceptable under the rules of capitalism.

Capitalism ($$$) and Morals/Religions-who is winning?

Posted by lovegetpeace
-----------------------
Who''ll be the losers in the end? I don''t blame you or your comment, however...

[Syndicate]

This is what adults do. Young 20 and 30 somethings. I have seen some very nice things on my buddies cell phone all of legal age. I guess its only natural for the next generation to imulate the current generation.

On a side note I was thinking about this earlier. These new phones use Blue tooth which could spread a virus. That virus could automaticly send all of a users pictures to a "collector". A virus could be used to collect child porn or it could be used by the police to bust people. I just see it now schools will require special software be up loaded into your childs phone. Why not buy your kid a phone that works like phone? No camerra. No color screen. Problem solved.

[flajoe1]

Why not buy your kid a phone that works like phone? No camerra. No color screen. Problem solved.
----
Posted by cbscrash07 at 08:09 PM

All the other teens will pick on him for not having the coolest features he will then feel ostracized and come back all blow everyone away%u2026..

[demslie]

Isn''t it Democrats who own the public school system in America. Isn''t is Democrats that outlawed any form of religion or morality training in our schools because that might hurt children. Isn''t it Democrats that praise and worship Bill Clinton for banging a young intern in the Oval Office.

[homeaux]

Who *** cares? Big whoop.. The kids interviewed in the story were 18; they weren''t even legal minors anymore. The problem, if there even is one, starts with the parents of these "kids" (most were Juniors or Seniors in high school, and thus ending their childhood) and their lack of control over or monitoring of their kids and their social lives. Phone plans come with the ability to check or disable texts, it''s not like a 17 year old girl has mad hax skills or something. This story is a non-issue, so long as it''s adolescents sending pictures to adolescents. The fact is, if they''re willing to take a nude picture, they''re most likely willing to have ***, and if they consensually chose to have *** with someone, who are we to tell them that it is wrong? It''s a matter of personal responsibility and free will. The only reason people should be up in arms about this story is if the pictures found their way to a 43 year old band teachers top desk drawer; that is something to be mad about.

Quit blowing the story out of proportion. This shouldn''t have even made the news; the only reason it did is because American''s love to look down on others and say "wow, I''m really glad my kid isn''t like that," but the inconvenient truth (to borrow from Mr. Gore) is that they most likely are, because sadly this is how our culture is now-a-days; and it started during the generation of the parents who are on here ******** about the loss of morality in recent years.

In summary:

stfukyskthnxbai

[flajoe1]

Isn''''t it Democrats that praise and worship Bill Clinton for banging a young intern in the Oval Office.
----
Posted by demslie at 09:28 PM

Some how I knew this was all Clintons fault. It couldn%u2019t be McCain who cheated on his first wife, Newt Gingrich who cheated on two wives or Rudy Giuliani who%u2019s been married three times and cheated on all of them. Nope, it%u2019s all the Clintons fault. Let me ask you%u2019 how%u2019s that No Child Left Behind doing? Has Bush and the republicans properly funded it yet? Let%u2019s see%u2026%u2026%u2026 Why no they haven%u2019t. How strange, after all the children are so important.

[docadams3]

See what eight years of the Bush administration has brought! If Reagan can take credit for the collapse of the Soviet Union, why can''t W take credit for the rise in teen STDs and cell phone porn?

[dmhphils]

When you are alone, or think you are alone, is when people do what they really want to do. That is when you know what and who you really are.

[dmhphils]

Posted by docadams3 at 11:55 PM : Apr 14, 2008

You can really blame this on Bush? Get real dip head.

[dmhphils]

The fact is, if they''''re willing to take a nude picture, they''''re most likely willing to have ***, and if they consensually chose to have *** with someone, who are we to tell them that it is wrong?
Posted by homeaux at 09:35 PM : Apr 14, 2008

Yea, right....who are we, the parents, the grown ups, the guardians of their souls, the overseers, the ones who are supposed to know.......to tell them it''s wrong? If you don''t, nobody will. This society has abdigated it''s parental duties for decades and we are seeing the fruit of the negligence today. Happy harvest....you who are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

[brianbwb-2009]

This should be good news for the conservatives, it is they who wish to move society back to olden times.

Any one who thinks that this is anything other than the latest technology applied to the oldest games is a fool, as is anyone who thinks that this is somehow any worse than "their grandma''s day".