Social media catapults what used to happen behind closed doors right into the public eye. In the horrific case that unfolded in Stuebenville, Ohio a few months ago, several young men dragged a young, unconscious girl around to parties, raped her and documented the whole thing via various social media outlets like Instagram and Twitter. Two of the young men were tried and convicted; yet countless others who tweeted, texted photos or posted images on photo-sharing apps like Instagram were held unaccountable. This vicious and shocking situation is indicative of a deeper set of problems with social media and the spread of illicit imagery. Young people (often girls) are victimized by adolescent boys who have learned a certain set of morals from pre-existing notions about how to treat females. In a study of teens in popular movies and television shows, Susannah Stern found out that “The most popular behaviors performed by teen characters in this study could be characterized as self-serving, pleasure-seeking, and violent. Socializing with friends and making out with romantic partners were commonly depicted activities among film teens. Violence was also relatively common among teen characters in the films in this study” (Stern, 33). It’s a bit of a catch 22: teens see themselves depicted as violent and abusive and it ends up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
A month prior to this article I was made aware of an interesting new app for my iphone via a close friend. For those unaware, Snapchat is a video and photo-sharing app that allows you to privately send media to friends. Seeming innocent enough I downloaded it intending to learn more about it and why it had seemed to attract much attention. Upon further investigation I was intrigued to find two details about it that might raise eyebrows: pictures and videos sent can only be viewed up to 10 seconds until they are erased completely, and users are notified when recipients attempt to screenshot what is sent to them. It really doesn’t take a genius to understand the underlying motives of an app like this; if you’re attempting to send explicit photos to people, this app is basically your best friend. It greatly lessens the likelihood of images you send being spread around. The moral debate is still there: should we allow the use of technologies that condone sexual activity amongst adolescents? The answer is ambiguous; there is no overly effective way to police it.