Provocative Online Pictures Lead to Provocative Situations, Study Says
A New study, authored by Jennie Noll, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati, shows a correlation between girls posting provocative pictures of themselves on social networking sites and online solicitations.
“The ways in which adolescent females present themselves online as potentially provocative is correlated with the number of sexual advances they’re getting online from people they don’t know,” says Noll. “The number of sexual advances in turn is directly related to the number of times they agree to meet offline.”
This study definitely gets into the realm of “common sense as science” but remains an important fact for parents to be aware of. Many people still see stark differences between posting a scantily clad photo of oneself online, and walking out of the house wearing the same thing. Fortunately this study shows the correlation between online flirting and offline sexual activity.
“I wouldn’t let my daughters walk out of the house in scantily clad clothes with a sign saying, ‘Party Girl — Come Get Me!’” Noll says. “But you see this all the time [on the Internet]. Girls wearing bikinis saying, ‘I want to party.’ Those are the snapshots that would-be exploiters are going to go to first.”
The study surveyed girls aged 14-17 and found that 40 percent of those surveyed had been sexually approached online.
Filed under: Internet Safety News
