Public Safety: Exercising Caution With Social Media and Cell Phones

By District Attorney Shannon Wallace

 

If you have teenagers in your life, you know they are never far away from their cell phones. These devices enable them to stay in touch with friends, 24/7, often via social media. Most of the time, that interaction is fine — just kids being kids.

But sometimes, teens use cell phones and social media to commit crimes, or they become victims of cyberbullying, stalking, harassment, and other crimes.

Not long ago, I read an anonymous post seeking advice for a serious problem involving a local teen who told a friend that a boy possessed revealing photos of her and was threatening to share those pictures on social media if she refused to perform certain acts with him. While this is shocking, it’s not an uncommon occurrence.

 

Advice for Parents of Teens

The best thing parents can do is frequently talk to their children and guide them in their use of technology. Here are a few tips to share with your teens:

1. Remind teens to think before sharing or posting anything. One rule of thumb is if you wouldn’t want your mother to see that post or picture, don’t share it. Once something is posted, it’s there forever.
2. Tell your teens never to share explicit photos, even with an intimate partner. Teen relationships typically don’t last forever, but that’s not the case with electronic images.
3. Make sure teens understand that they should never possess or distribute explicit photos. If the person in the photo is under 16, it’s a serious felony. Regardless of the person’s age, if someone uses a revealing image to threaten or make demands of someone else, that’s called revenge porn and is a serious felony in Georgia.
4. Call 911 immediately if your child is threatened in this way.

 

Cell phones make our teens particularly vulnerable, on a device that is rarely out of their reach. Many crimes are committed electronically including cyberbullying, distribution of explicit materials, furnishing obscene materials to minors, sexual exploitation of children, stalking, child pornography, and sextortion.*

Please take time to talk to your teens about these issues. Ignorance of the law is no legal excuse.

 

February Is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Teen dating violence is a form of intimate partner violence that affects young people in close, dating relationships. Victims suffer repeated abuse in the form of acts that can be physical, emotional, sexual, or technology-related.

Healthy teen relationships should not involve controlling and violent behaviors. Remember that signs of abuse are not always easy to spot, especially when the abuser is using technology to control his/her intimate partner.

Teens experiencing dating violence should reach out to a parent, teacher, or other trusted adult. They can also call the Cherokee Family Violence Center (770-479-1703) or 911 in case of emergency

 

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*Crimes committed electronically include stalking O.C.G.A. §16-5-90, computer/electronic pornography and child exploitation O.C.G.A. 16-12-100.2, electronically furnishing obscene materials to minors O.C.G.A. 16-12-100.1, sexual exploitation of children O.C.G.A. 16-12-100, sexual extortion O.C.G.A. §16-11-92, and transmission of sexually explicit content electronically without the depicted person’s consent O.C.G.A. §16-11-90. Also relevant is the Georgia anti-bullying law, O.C.G.A. §20-2-751.4.