InAPPropriate (A look into youth behavior on photo sharing apps)

The unavoidable popularity in tech gadgets has taken over and infiltrated the youth. Kids of all ages can be seen using Smartphones and Tablets, and seem to be using them at increasingly younger ages. These gadgets come along with power and access to things which may be too advanced, or a bit inappropriate.

While it is important to keep with the times and the technology available to us, it is also important to remember boundaries that must be instilled. The most access kids use to have was to a computer, which in my day was a desktop in a communal family room. This gave a sense of independence, but it was also in a safe environment where some form of monitoring could occur. Now kids are given the freedom of carrying around their gadgets at all times, giving them the freedom to use and do whatever they desire with them.

Photo sharing should be a positive and creative experience- allowing others to see pictures you have taken and giving them access to your adventures. The only problem is that some photo sharers aren’t very wholesome or family friendly.

Take Instagram for example: you can follow individual people and see their pictures and you can also look at a popular page which shows the pictures that have been “liked” the most. While some photos are interesting shots of nature or of some cute little puppy, more often than not at least one of the images will be a scantily clad young female.

The cycle continues due to the fact that young children idolize certain celebrities, even those that may not be the best role models. There are a lot of female celebrities that voluntarily share images of themselves in provocative outfits, or sometimes no outfits at all. These not-so-prude ladies have an influence on their young fans since they are posting these images on their social networks for all of their millions of followers to see.

Women who aren’t celebrities contribute to said problem too. There isn’t a time that I can open up my Instagram and NOT see a picture of a half naked girl making a pouty face. This photo sharing network has now become a personal promotion network of females flaunting themselves for millions of other users to see. Young girls then see such images and believe that such actions and behaviors are what makes one cool, attractive or desirable and therefore mimic these approaches.

While users can be blocked or reported (along with individual photos), it is important to remember that censoring all of these images isn’t a likely thing. These photo apps (and other social networks) may not exactly be for just anybody. Perhaps if you’re a parent and your child is using such a device, you should consider checking out some settings and making sure what they’re seeing isn’t too much for their innocent eyes.

Guest post by Chrissy Giglio of Fueled.