Unfortunately Bregoli is no outlier when it comes to social media culture. Being hot is #1 goal, sometimes for very young girls. Her videos and selfies may tend toward the extreme on the spectrum, but are similar in kind to those that exist all over the Internet.
Such postings are sometimes solicited by predators, such as the Australian man who was arrested for allegedly obtaining explicit images of children by posing as the singer Justin Bieber, using mainstream platforms such as Facebook and Skype. And sometimes such images are freely self-generated as a way to get attention, because being sexually provocative is often what is rewarded on social media.
It's like if you post a picture winning the math award, people will laugh at you, but if you post a picture in a bikini you’ll get like a hundred likes.
Many girls are as troubled by the sexualization of girls on social media as their parents would be, if they were fully aware.
Meanwhile, sexualization hurts girls. The landmark 2007 American Psychological Association report on the sexualization of girls draws connections between sexualization and a host of problems, from anxiety to depression to eating disorders to low self-esteem. Not to mention the fact that sexualized posts by children often border on child porn, and there is a problem with the proliferation of child porn all over the world.
What should be done about children posting sexualized photos and videos of themselves? What is the responsibility of social media companies? And how should the law respond? Until society catches up with this new technology, parents are the first line of defense. It’s time for parents everywhere to take control of their out-of-control teens, for their own well-being and protection before it's to late.
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