Normalization and dangers of nudity on Social Media

Among teen users, Instagram is the most popular social media platform, aside from YouTube. They even have a “no nudity” policy, restricting nearly all nudity with exceptions of paintings and sculptures, breastfeeding, and post-mastectomy scarring.

Celebrities routinely appear in compromising and salacious photos, and the tabloid press rewards them with adoring attention. The lesson to our young women: If you’ve got it, flaunt it.

Any teen who has access to the internet knows that nude celebrity images go viral and take centre stage. Nude, or almost nude, Instagram posts of Demi Lovato, Nicki Minaj, the Kardashians, and even males such as Justin Bieber and John Legend create an idea that nudity on social media is ok.

When a teenager, who is highly influenced by peers and society more so than her parents, sees these images, it’s almost a justification for her posting or liking nude photos

Young girls in our culture have become over-sexualized and desensitized to sexual images. As a result, they are often oblivious to the importance of keeping their bodies private.

Yet somehow, porn is thriving on Instagram. Simple searches looking for “babes” or “sexy” will reveal the reality of explicit content on the platform. Basic hashtags such as #sexy, many times containing pornography, collectively have millions of posts, none of which are filtered for young users.

we have the opportunity to change the ways our children respond to this new environment. But how can we help our young girls understand their vulnerability?

The overarching message to our young girls must be a balanced one. No one has the right to see your body unless you give them that right.

Your body belongs to you. Images of it are strictly private and not for public consumption. Nude photos are sensitive information and they shouldn’t pop up when you scroll through a news feed. Photos like these are potentially explosive to a young person’s personal life. And they never go away.

-Emma