Although thousands of celebrity nude photos have been leaked onto the internet in recent months, the issue may also hit closer to home for college students.
A Georgia State student who wished to remain anonymous said her ex -boyfriend posted nude photos of her to his Twitter account with comments bashing her reputation.
“He called me out of my name and he tweeted that I cheated on him and I sleep around,” she said.
The student said she had not seen the pictures because she unfollowed him and only found out about them when her friends called to tell her about the incident.
“My friends were calling and texting me asking if I was okay. I was so confused and then a friend of mine screen-shotted the tweets and sent them to me,” she said. “I couldn’t help but cry.”
The student said her ex deleted the tweets but someone else posted her pictures on an Instagram account that exposes nude photos and risque texts from other girls in her county.
“I was shocked because I couldn’t believe he did that. But I couldn’t cry for long because in the back of my mind, I knew it could happen. I’ve seen all the exposed pages and I never thought much about them until my picture got on one,” she said.
The Instagram account was deleted but she doesn’t know how many people have her nude pictures saved to their phones.
“Just be careful who you send your pictures to,” she said. “People can be ruthless.”
‘Revenge Porn’ and legislative bans:
Revenge porn is the posting of nude or sexually explicit photographs/videos of people online without their consent, according to the National Conference of State Legislators’s (NCSL) website. This can include media that was taken with consent.
On April 15, 2014 Georgia Senate passed House Bill 838 which criminalized similar actions of revenge porn and invasion of privacy, according to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.
The state is one of more than a dozen that have passed similar legislation this year, according to the NCSL’s website.
Megan Hodgkiss, Georgia State graduate teaching assistant, said if a student’s pictures are leaked, he or she has a number of options.
“They can request that the publisher retract the photos,”she said. “They can also ask GSU school officials for help and advice. There may also be legal recourses.”
Hodgkiss also said students who send risqué images of themselves via social media risk having those images seen by unintended parties.
“It raises problems related to a person’s privacy as well as their reputation,” she said.
Generally a social media website cannot be responsible for leaked nudes, according to Hodgkiss.
“The social media company is merely the third-party channel through which a person shares or leaks the images,” she said.
Other leaks around the country
Students of Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, California said someone in charge of the twitter account @CVHSProbs_, began posting nude photos of students using #LeakedNudes on Oct. 1, according to KESQ News Channel 3’s website.
Additionally a Snapchat account titled ucfnudes was created on Oct. 17 and posted revealing photos and videos of what were believed to be University of Central Florida (UCF) students, according to Central Florida Future’s website. The same day a Twitter account was created under the same name.
The website also states a Snapchat representative said the company takes matters like this very seriously and are investigating the ucfnudes account.
Student Voxes:
Nicole Barden, nursing major
Q: What do you think about sending nude pictures?
A: “They’re ok. They’re somewhat mandatory in relationships now. Especially if [your relationship] is long distance.
Q:Are you familiar with revenge porn?
A:Yeah, something like that has happened to me before. After a break up, I found out that my ex shared my pictures of me with his friends and it got back to me.
Q:How did that make you feel?
A:I felt terrible because I trusted him at one point. Those pictures were between us. I didn’t share his nudes but you never know who a person really is.
Q:Have you come across any “exposed” social media pages?
A: Yes, in high school. They’re disgusting. I don’t understand why people have to demean girls by putting their naked pictures online.
Kiante Springette, Finance major
Q: What do you think about sending nudes?
A: I think nudes are pretty cool. I don’t really see it as a problem. Nudes are becoming the norm in our generation.
Q: What does a person risk by sending nudes?
A: Depending on who you send it to it can be put out to the public at some point. But if you really trust that person, it’s up to you.
Q: What do you think about revenge porn?
A: It’s really messed up but again, that’s something you risk when you send nudes out. Always remember that’s a possibility before you send it.
Mandala Jones, Marketing Major
Q:What do you think about sending nudes?
A:Personally I think they’re stupid because as soon as you send pictures like that you open the gate for other people to find out. I don’t even send nudes or ask for them. It’s weird.
Q: What do you think about revenge porn?
A: It’s childish.
Q:How do you think nude photos get leaked?
A: I think there are master hackers out there. So taking the pictures are just as stupid because things can get hacked.
Rockel Foster, Biology Major
Q: What do you think about nudes?
A: I think that nudes are intimate and are meant to be shared with your significant other, but I also think that you shouldn’t just sent them to just anybody. It should be someone you can trust, someone you’ve grown and developed with.
Q: What do you know about revenge porn or “exposed” social media pages?
A: I have known people who have been victims and I have seen exposed pages. I think that exposing someone’s nudes because you’re upset is a huge sign of immaturity.
Q: Is there a big risk by sending nudes?
A: Yes, there is a risk with sending nudes, but there’s a huge risk with most things. You never expect them to get exposed or end up somewhere they aren’t supposed to, but theres always that chance that those things can happen
