Is Facebook Sexualizing Young Girls?

[Sand Man]

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The article is somewhat related to this HOT topic at the moment: https://www.istorya.net/forums/politi...l#post12353378

Is Facebook Sexualizing Young Girls?

Adolescence can be a tricky time for even the most well-adjusted kid out there. Add technology and social media to the equation, though, and young teens can find themselves facing the kind of scrutiny once reserved only for celebrities. They're constantly in front of a camera (usually in the form of a smartphone or a webcam), the images open to criticism from peers and strangers alike. In a bid to be -- or remain -- popular, many kids are posing in increasingly provocative, and inappropriate, ways.

Is Facebook forcing young girls to be too sexual, too soon?

Thirteen-year-old Jordan tells The New York Times: "I feel like I have to look good all the time - at school, at parties, at the mall, whenever I am socializing out of the house. I want people to say, 'She looks great.' I'm not happy if I don't think I look good."

It sounds typical teenage insecurity, but in this age of sexting and cyber-bullying, an embarrassing outfit can become a matter of public debate in minutes.

"Before a video chat, I'll fix my hair and make sure that I look good," Grace, who is in eighth grade, told The New York Times. "If I just got out of the shower and my hair is wet, or I'm wearing my sweats, I'll cover the camera with a Post-it, or I just won't accept the video chat."

The constant need to look good is fed by a need for acceptance, something that tweens and teens can gauge easily thanks to Facebook "Likes" and comments, both kind and cruel. The more "likes" a Facebook picture has, the more popular the kid is perceived to be -- which can translate to better (or worse) treatment by peers in real life. And some people's "Likes" are more important than others'.

"Girls don't just want to get 'Likes' from their close friends," 14-year-old Lily explained. "They want to get them from boys, or older kids, or kids from other schools who are popular."

So they vamp for the camera: hips out, lips pouty, outfits skimpier and skimpier, cleavage on display.

"What garners attention is not the typical, it's the outrageous, it's the edgy,'' Dr. Robyn Silverman, the author of "Good Girls Don't Get Fat,'' pointed out when Disney star Miley Cyrus took her image from squeaky-clean to very vampy. "It's about any attention you can get. What sells?''

But when reality-TV shows like "Dance Moms" showcase adults who dress 8- to 12-year-old girls in nude bras and pink feathers for an "innocent burlesque routine" and push-up bikinis come sized for 7-year-olds, it's no wonder kids have gotten the idea that sexing it up for the camera is not only normal, but encouraged.

What do you think? Does social media encourage tweens and teens to act inappropriately sexual? Or is it just another stage on which the usual teenage popularity contest plays out -- one that parents are more aware of only because its online?

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I find this article very true with what I see in some of the youngsters' Facebook accounts.

[J.Abz]

the evils of social media.... anyway.. for me lang.. facebook is again just like the internet... its a tool.. to those who use it for the purpose of getting information out of it.... and its both also as a source of good and bad, depending on how you use it...

I've read reports that when the tides of freedom swept the Arab nations..toppling the dictators like, Mubarak, Khadafi and etc.. those tides of freedom, started in the very essence of raising its voice... in the internet.. thru FACEBOOK... and made a strong foundation in implementing the change and reforms thru the streets after..... again it all started in FACEBOOK also...


Facebook is also use to gather sympathy and donations especially those hit by disasters and diseases...

Again, Facebook is a form of tool for the good or for the worse... it all really depends how you use it...

Those girls posting pictures of themselves on their accounts in facebook, maybe doesnt know the whole implications on their actions when they've done that so....

and they've now paid the price dearly... when their story is now scattered throughout the media... both here and abroad...

[Gandalf]

Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work
, study and live around them.Communication is very important but depends on the individual on how they use it. I agree with you J.Abz. On facebook page setting there are many security options and safety and security reminders. that helps the user to understand there security on facebook. We cannot blame the website but possibly we can blame the user itself.

[Gandalf]

Not only those website bro. but also those stupid individual who have made *** in front of cameras making a video and upload it on website so that they can earn lot of money and they maybe think that if they do this, this might be bring them popular. This is just one of the result of the person involve in drugs, and others maybe influence from a close friend.

And when children can stumble on porn sites accidentally and the ease with which people can stumble upon this in the workplace, creating liability issues.
It's an enormous business ... There's a lot of money to be made," said Sean Kaldor, an analyst with Nielsen/NetRatings, which estimated that 34 million visited porn sites in August -- about one in four Internet users

[J.Abz]

the internet is like a pandora box... you let all what's inside.. both good and evil...

and I believe.. there are really no best policing with regards to teens browsing the internet.. than the parents themselves.. making the gestures to make their kids understand on what is good and bad...

you can't stop the information highway as it some sort of a virtual society already.... BUT you can police and guide your children in the best way you can to better inform them the good and the evils that internet brings to all....

and I agree... the internet is just like a double-edge sword....you can use it for good and can make your life convenient... or it can wreck one's life as well.... even to the point of death.....

[emailroy2002]

FB viewers / user discretion is advised.


mura ra na og pusil... kung gamiton og para depensa or pwede pang murder weapon. depende ra imong intention asa gamiton.

[Gandalf]

FB viewers / user discretion is advised.


mura ra na og pusil... kung gamiton og para depensa or pwede pang murder weapon. depende ra imong intention asa gamiton.

Exactly it is.

[blu bizcuitz]

yeah...user discretion is a must...rated PG...patnubay nang magulang ay kailangan...

[Jefr0x]

small letter man gud ang ila gigamit kapoyan ug basa unya ang uban mobasa wa gisabot o kasabot. nagpatak lang ug pasagad

[salbahis]

you guys should start petitioning the govt to have a strong internet censorship...