LAST week – as far as Zambia’s Internet users are concerned – was eventful. Almost overshadowing the fact that by-elections were under way in three constituencies, what kept the citizens busy was the fact that nude pictures of a teenager and her well-known public figure consort were circulating and flowing faster than the lava flow witnessed when the volcano Pinatubo erupted.
The incident nearly broke the Internet and sparked wide-ranging debates about morals and the appropriateness or rather inappropriateness of taking selfies in the nude using digital devices.
Just about two decades ago, a phone was something that needed wiring to work. Landlines, as they are known today, could not send a text much less take a picture.
Advancements in technology, however, have rendered the landline in most homes an obsolete appliance as more and more people opt to use mobile phones.
Mobile phones range from the most basic, like those most parents opt to buy for younger children to smartphones like the Galaxy Edge and iPhone 6 that are essentially mini-computers which offer Internet access to popular social networking sites like Facebook, music platforms and many other forms of entertainment, apart from making calls.
Teenagers have found that the use of cameras and video facilities on mobile phones are fun and are often used for sharing sexually suggestive photos among their network of friends.
Parents need to realise the dangers that teenagers expose themselves to by taking what they think are fun photos which when found in the public domain might expose them to ridicule and cyber bullying.
Of course when kids reach their teen years, they tend to think they have arrived in the world of adulthood and are capable of making rational decisions. The truth cannot be far from this. The most stupid decisions that children make are usually during this crucial growth
spurt. The “you are not the boss of me” from when they were six is now taken an octave higher.
Instead of trying to reign them in by force, this is the time to use logic and real life examples of how what can seem as harmless behaviour of taking nude or semi-nude photos can do their self-esteem when they find themselves being ogled by millions of internet users who often use disparaging words to describe them.

• Teenagers have found that the use of cameras and video facilities on mobile phones are fun and are often used for sharing sexually suggestive photos among their network of friends.

Teach children that friendships are fragile, and trust maybe misplaced. Today’s best friend will be tomorrow’s enemy. This newly acquired enemy would maybe want to get even for a perceived slight by exposing pictures which were shared in confidence on sites such as Facebook or Twitter.
Such public cyber shaming has become popular and in some instances, those at the receiving end of such shaming tactics have resorted to suicide.
So based on the age and maturity of each child, agree on phone features allowed for use. Define clear rules for sensible use and the consequences for breaking them. With older kids discuss cyber bullying and sexting (sexting is an urban term defined as sending sexually explicit photographs or messages via mobile phone).
From time to time, ask your kids to show you what is on their phones. Rules may need re-examination as children mature and mobile technologies evolve.
Teach kids safe and responsible phone use by asking them to only share their number only with family and close friends. These numbers should not be posted on social networks. Encourage them to lock phones with PIN codes to prevent others from snooping and misusing them.
Emphasise to them that they should not make, send or accept provocative texts, photos or videos.
If physical threats result from breached privacy, report the matter to law enforcement officers.
Always remind them that what might seem like a fun thing to do today can have life-long repercussions. Society has the memory of an elephant. Fifteen minutes of fame is not worth fifteen years of shame for something that could easily be avoided by being conscious of what warrants internet and personal safety. Reality show Teen Mom Jenelle Evans still has internet links to leaked nude photos she took of herself almost three years after the fact.
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