Stripped teens bare all for social media

Young teenage girls are baring it all for their adult male audience on various social media networks.

In one of the many cases uncovered by The Tembisan, teen girls openly share explicit pictures of themselves on Facebook for their much older male following.

The page titled “School Girlz got Swagg in Uniform” boasted a gallery of over 100 images of school girls exposing themselves and performing oral sex on classmates.

It had a following of over 10 000 members, mostly adult men.

The pictures were taken in classrooms, in front of school entrances to show which school they attend and in school bathrooms.

In the pictures the girls aged between 13 and 16 pose proactively for their adult fan-base.

In many of the comments on the photographs the schools were identified and telephone numbers of the girls were shared for the men.

The page was removed after The Tembisan questioned Facebook over its content.

In one of the posts the administrator of the page asked the following question: “School porn. Hit like if you want the admin to upload videos of school learners having sex”.

The post received 11 responses encouraging the admin to post pupil pornography on the page.

This page is only one of many that not only allow children to submit nude photographs to a public forum, they also give youngsters access to pornographic material.

Ms Linda Griffin, from Pan-Euro Policy Communications, commented on behalf of Facebook.

“Our user operations team have reviewed the page and removed it as the page repeatedly posted content that violated our community standards,” she said.

Ms Griffin said Facebook operates on a report and take down system and have created some of the best tools online for reporting content, pages or issues like bullying.

Acting spokesperson for the Edenvale SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Roberts, said liking, sharing or participating in such sites constitutes as distribution of child pornography.

“Anyone who shares these types of pictures on any social media networks actively participates in the distribution of child pornography which is a serious criminal offence,” he said.

Lt Col Roberts added that sites which promote sexual activities with and by minors also make it easy for sexual predators to access their victims.

“We strongly recommend that parents know what their children are doing online at all times. Parents should also inform their children of the dangers of these sites,” he said.

Educate your children

According to Ms Linda Griffin from Pan-Euro Policy Communications on behalf of Facebook, the social media giant has created some of the best tools online for reporting content, pages or issues like bullying including:

• Real Name Culture- Facebook is an environment in which people associate their actions with their true names and identities in front of their friends and family, which leads to greater accountability. It is a violation of our policies to use a fake name or operate under a false identity, and we encourage people to report anyone they think is doing this.?
• Abuse Reporting- There are easy to use ‘Report’ links on virtually every Facebook page. Users can also block people who post hurtful content. Reports of harassment receive a quick responseand we ensure that high-priority reports are addressed first.
• Social Reporting-?In March 2011, Facebook pioneered a tool called, ‘Social Reporting,’ which allows people to address both the online and offline impacts of bullying. Social reporting enables people to report problematic content not only to Facebook, but also to a trusted friend or adult who may understand the offline context of the situation and be able to assist. While social reporting is designed for anyone, teens find this system especially useful. Teens are 10 percent more likely than adults to use it.
• Privacy for Minors- Facebook’s privacy and visibility settings take into account the unique needs of people between the ages 13 and 17, and are more restrictive than the settings for adults in nearly all cases.