Is Facebook Sexualizing Young Girls?

[Shadow]

Yep..sex sells...makes you popular with your peers. Society is teaching them this young. Glad I'm not a teenager in this day and age.



Adolescence can be a tricky time for even the most well-adjusted kid out there.
Add technology (http://yhoo.it/zjIe27) and social media (http://yhoo.it/xmMPgN) to the equation, though, and young
teens can find themselves facing the kind of scrutiny once reserved only for
celebrities. They're constantly in front of a camera (usually in the form of a
smartphone or a webcam (http://yhoo.it/xMa4YU)), the images open to criticism from peers and strangers
alike. In a bid to be -- or remain -- popular, many kids are posing in
increasingly provocative, and inappropriate, ways.

Is Facebook forcing young girls to be too sexual, too soon?

[Related: Facebook "Friend" offer
exposes man's other wife] (http://yhoo.it/xfUWqY)

Thirteen-year-old Jordan tells The New York Times: "I feel like I have to look good all
the time - at school, at parties, at the mall, whenever I am socializing out of
the house. I want people to say, 'She looks great.' I'm not happy if I don't
think I look good."

It sounds typical teenage insecurity, but in this
age of sexting (http://yhoo.it/AiccNe) and cyber-bullying (http://yhoo.it/yJ5YiN), an embarrassing outfit can become
a matter of public debate in minutes.

"Before a video chat, I'll fix my
hair and make sure that I look good," Grace, who is in eighth grade, told The
New York Times. "If I just got out of the shower and my hair is wet, or I'm
wearing my sweats, I'll cover the camera with a Post-it, or I just won't accept
the video chat."

The constant need to look good is fed by a need for
acceptance, something that tweens and teens can gauge easily thanks to Facebook
"Likes" and comments, both kind and cruel. The more "likes" a Facebook picture (http://yhoo.it/AuDzYY)
has, the more popular the kid is perceived to be -- which can translate to
better (or worse) treatment by peers in real life. And some people's "Likes" are
more important than others'.

"Girls don't just want to get 'Likes' from
their close friends," 14-year-old Lily explained. "They want to get them from
boys, or older kids, or kids from other schools who are popular."

So,they vamp for the camera: hips out, lips pouty, outfits skimpier and skimpier,
cleavage on display.

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/facebook-sexualizing-young-girls-183300178.html

[Thunderknuckles]

Not Facebook's problem. This is a hardwired female issue made worse through technology.

But, if you need a simple solution: Delete your Facebook profile.

Problem solved.

[Abbey Marie]

Not Facebook's problem. This is a hardwired female issue made worse through technology.

But, if you need a simple solution: Delete your Facebook profile.

Problem solved.

Ah, the old "Just turn off the TV" supposed solution again.

And it might have a shot at working if your child was a hermit in your house, and under supervision 24/7.

But children have this little requirement called going out of the house. They go to school. They visit friends at their homes. They need internet access for school projects turning in homework, etc.

You will never be able to keep your child from seeing what's out there, so these technologies will affect them, like it or not.

Problem decidedly not solved.

[Thunderknuckles]

Problem decidedly not solved.
I don't know if I'm in a mood this morning or what, but something about your response made me smile :)

I'll concede that you cannot ward your children from worldly exposures but they can be taught how to properly deal with them.
Maybe it's my age and the fact that I'm a curmudgeon. This all seems so ridiculous to me.


So umm, can I buy you a drink?
:p

[RadiomanATL]

Ah, the old "Just turn off the TV" supposed solution again.

And it might have a shot at working if your child was a hermit in your house, and under supervision 24/7.

But children have this little requirement called going out of the house. They go to school. They visit friends at their homes. They need internet access for school projects turning in homework, etc.

You will never be able to keep your child from seeing what's out there, so these technologies will affect them, like it or not.

Problem decidedly not solved.

So what is your solution?

[logroller]

So what is your solution?
In accordance with my avowed practice of Islamic Fundamentalism, I'm waging Jihad on Facebook...its for the children. :laugh2:

[RadiomanATL]

In accordance with my avowed practice of Islamic Fundamentalism, I'm waging Jihad on Facebook...its for the children. :laugh2:

I am pro fatwa.

[logroller]

I am pro fatwa.
To be anything else makes you imperialist swine.:thumb:

[RadiomanATL]

To be anything else makes you imperialist swine.:thumb:

allah admiral akbar.

[logroller]

allah admiral akbar.

a salami make em.:bow3:

[Shadow]

Ah, the old "Just turn off the TV" supposed solution again.

And it might have a shot at working if your child was a hermit in your house, and under supervision 24/7.

But children have this little requirement called going out of the house. They go to school. They visit friends at their homes. They need internet access for school projects turning in homework, etc.

You will never be able to keep your child from seeing what's out there, so these technologies will affect them, like it or not.

Problem decidedly not solved.

Exactly. Maybe if we lived in a perfect world teenagers would have the cognative skills to deal with peer pressure. As it is...that kind of self awareness usually comes with age. At 12 - 16 most teens are still learning how to cope with their personal and sexual identity. When asked a lot girls will tell you (mine included) that some of the biggest struggles they face among peers is "image and appearance". Most teens are and have been openly ridiculed about their weight, looks and personal style. The sexual coersion and teasing of today are of totally different degree then when I was a teenager even. We are trying to make them grow up to fast.

[Shadow]

Not Facebook's problem. This is a hardwired female issue made worse through technology.

But, if you need a simple solution: Delete your Facebook profile.

Problem solved.

Kind of a catch 22. Teenagers need an outlet,Facebook is kind of like a virtual diary...can be both good and bad in that respect.

[Abbey Marie]

I don't know if I'm in a mood this morning or what, but something about your response made me smile :)

I'll concede that you cannot ward your children from worldly exposures but they can be taught how to properly deal with them.
Maybe it's my age and the fact that I'm a curmudgeon. This all seems so ridiculous to me.


So umm, can I buy you a drink?
:p

Sure- can I have a Manhattan or a Gin & Tonic? :cool:

I agree that the best thing we can do is teach them our values. And inculcate alternative forms of entertainment, like outdoor activities and reading a book (imagine that?!) Children need to learn to deal with bad influences. Trying to totally shield them tends to make them rebel at some point.

[Thunderknuckles]

Sure- can I have a Manhattan or a Gin & Tonic? :cool:

I agree that the best thing we can do is teach them our values. And inculcate alternative forms of entertainment, like outdoor activities and reading a book (imagine that?!) Children need to learn to deal with bad influences. Trying to totally shield them tends to make them rebel at some point.
You ever tried a Gorilla Fart :)
"Inculcate": that's a word I haven't heard in a good long while.

You are spot on about trying to shield kids. I have seen repercussions of that first hand.

Back to my daughter's soft ball game.
You ever see a 41 year old man wearing a Smurfettes tee-shirt? It's disturbing but a daddy has to do what a daddy has to do :p

[logroller]

You ever tried a Gorilla Fart :)
"Inculcate": that's a word I haven't heard in a good long while.

You are spot on about trying to shield kids. I have seen repercussions of that first hand.

Back to my daughter's soft ball game.
You ever see a 41 year old man wearing a Smurfettes tee-shirt? It's disturbing but a daddy has to do what a daddy has to do :p

That's smurfin' commitment man!

[jimnyc]

Facebook is a breeding ground for learning bad words and seeing inappropriate pictures. Hell, the little bastards would see that alone from my account! My son has never used FB and I'm not ready to let him yet. He's too into the online games anyway. But I'm glad I don't have a daughter to keep an eye on. Like Myspace before it, social networking sites attract a lot of nuts that like to use it as a sexual map.

Good parenting goes a LONG way. Kids are gonna be kids, they're going to hear and see things, be exposed to it - but an awful lot of what happens from that point, and what they do with what they've been exposed to, will be affected by how we raise our kids.

[ConHog]

Because of my wife's job, and my job before; we don't allow the family to be part of social sites. My son never cared, my daughter is only 6 so time will tell how she feels about that rule.

[Dilloduck]

A woman's power always has been closely tied to her sexuality. Young women who want power today have to play or cede power. And we all have had technology foisted upon us. (yes yes--there are exceptions)

[Shadow]

A woman's power always has been closely tied to her sexuality. Young women who want power today have to play or cede power. And we all have had technology foisted upon us. (yes yes--there are exceptions)

So, then you agree that the pressure is greater now?

I agree that we have all had technology foisted on us...hell... even I broke down and finally got a cell phone (damn it).

[Dilloduck]

More people to compete with for power so, ya-----we gotta lot of competition for a finate amount of power.

too damn many people

[Jess]

Yep..sex sells...makes you popular with your peers. Society is teaching them this young. Glad I'm not a teenager in this day and age.

Everything is geared towards sexualizing young girls, it seems.

It's too bad we, as a nation, are so focused on physical "perfection". Cuz most of us ain't anywhere close to that and never will be, no matter what we do. It's an illusion propagated by the media and entertainment circles.

[darin]

Everything is geared towards sexualizing young girls, it seems.

It's too bad we, as a nation, are so focused on physical "perfection". Cuz most of us ain't anywhere close to that and never will be, no matter what we do. It's an illusion propagated by the media and entertainment circles.

media and entertainment do that because 'that' is the product people respond-to..people are geared towards it. There's a line, I suppose, we've developed. Pushing the envelope makes that line move closer and closer to adolesence.

[Shadow]

media and entertainment do that because 'that' is the product people respond-to..people are geared towards it. There's a line, I suppose, we've developed. Pushing the envelope makes that line move closer and closer to adolesence.

I was going to say the same thing. It is propagated by the people who buy the illusion. Society worships the young,beautiful and sexy...how old are the models(and even actresses) when they tell them they are over the hill? 21...22?

[cadet]

Everything is geared towards sexualizing young girls, it seems.

It's too bad we, as a nation, are so focused on physical "perfection". Cuz most of us ain't anywhere close to that and never will be, no matter what we do. It's an illusion propagated by the media and entertainment circles.

(male equivalent)
And making men muscular, your not a man unless you have abs... thank you GI Joe...

[Abbey Marie]

I was going to say the same thing. It is propagated by the people who buy the illusion. Society worships the young,beautiful and sexy...how old are the models(and even actresses) when they tell them they are over the hill? 21...22?

I don't think it is all that clear which is driving the other. Perhaps we are conditioned to worship youth because all forms of visual media throw it in our faces on a truly constant basis.

[Dilloduck]

I'm afraid that it's Mother Nature and our survival instincts that are driving this one. The media and corporations just take advantage of what comes naturally. Chemistry. While our heads try to think of some important reason that humans exists our bodies know that we must struggle to survive and pass on our DNA.

[Jess]

I'm afraid that it's Mother Nature and our survival instincts that are driving this one. The media and corporations just take advantage of what comes naturally. Chemistry. While our heads try to think of some important reason that humans exists our bodies know that we must struggle to survive and pass on our DNA.

Dammit, ducky!

Why you gotta bring science and whatnot into this? Bein' all logical and stuff. Hmph!





But yeah, you're right.

[Dilloduck]

Dammit, ducky!

Why you gotta bring science and whatnot into this? Bein' all logical and stuff. Hmph!





But yeah, you're right.

If it messes up my fantasies it's gonna mess up someone else's too. Misery loves company.

[Jess]

If it messes up my fantasies it's gonna mess up someone else's too. Misery loves company.

Indeed it does. :laugh:

[Shadow]

(male equivalent)
And making men muscular, your not a man unless you have abs... thank you GI Joe...

They like to dumb them down too. Like Joey on friends for an example.

[Shadow]

If it messes up my fantasies it's gonna mess up someone else's too. Misery loves company.

What fantasies did it mess up for you? You just admitted men are led around by their peckers. :slap:

[Dilloduck]

What fantasies did it mess up for you? You just admitted men are led around by their peckers. :slap:

I was hoping peckers meant something.

[Shadow]

I was hoping peckers meant something.

Who's fault is that? You men de value your own peckers,by chasing any ol tart that moves within eye shot.
:rolleyes:

[ConHog]

Who's fault is that? You men de value your own peckers,by chasing any ol tart that moves within eye shot.
:rolleyes:

Mmmmm cherry tart

[Dilloduck]

Who's fault is that? You men de value your own peckers,by chasing any ol tart that moves within eye shot.
:rolleyes:


HEY--this thread is about young tarts.:slap:

[DragonStryk72]

Yep..sex sells...makes you popular with your peers. Society is teaching them this young. Glad I'm not a teenager in this day and age.



Adolescence can be a tricky time for even the most well-adjusted kid out there.
Add technology (http://yhoo.it/zjIe27) and social media (http://yhoo.it/xmMPgN) to the equation, though, and young
teens can find themselves facing the kind of scrutiny once reserved only for
celebrities. They're constantly in front of a camera (usually in the form of a
smartphone or a webcam (http://yhoo.it/xMa4YU)), the images open to criticism from peers and strangers
alike. In a bid to be -- or remain -- popular, many kids are posing in
increasingly provocative, and inappropriate, ways.

Is Facebook forcing young girls to be too sexual, too soon?

[Related: Facebook "Friend" offer
exposes man's other wife] (http://yhoo.it/xfUWqY)

Thirteen-year-old Jordan tells The New York Times: "I feel like I have to look good all
the time - at school, at parties, at the mall, whenever I am socializing out of
the house. I want people to say, 'She looks great.' I'm not happy if I don't
think I look good."

It sounds typical teenage insecurity, but in this
age of sexting (http://yhoo.it/AiccNe) and cyber-bullying (http://yhoo.it/yJ5YiN), an embarrassing outfit can become
a matter of public debate in minutes.

"Before a video chat, I'll fix my
hair and make sure that I look good," Grace, who is in eighth grade, told The
New York Times. "If I just got out of the shower and my hair is wet, or I'm
wearing my sweats, I'll cover the camera with a Post-it, or I just won't accept
the video chat."

The constant need to look good is fed by a need for
acceptance, something that tweens and teens can gauge easily thanks to Facebook
"Likes" and comments, both kind and cruel. The more "likes" a Facebook picture (http://yhoo.it/AuDzYY)
has, the more popular the kid is perceived to be -- which can translate to
better (or worse) treatment by peers in real life. And some people's "Likes" are
more important than others'.

"Girls don't just want to get 'Likes' from
their close friends," 14-year-old Lily explained. "They want to get them from
boys, or older kids, or kids from other schools who are popular."

So,they vamp for the camera: hips out, lips pouty, outfits skimpier and skimpier,
cleavage on display.

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/facebook-sexualizing-young-girls-183300178.html

Truthfully... it's not really facebook that's doing it. Believe it or not, some of the most ardent opponents of the women's lib movement were, in fact, women. Here, you have a bunch of teenaged girls who are, of course, incredibly conscious of how they look, and I mean, even back when I was in school, the girls spent a LOT of time making sure they looked as good as possible, and I was in catholic school, they only had one outfit to wear when you come right down to it. But accessories, makeup, even the type socks/stockings they wore seemed very particular, and that was before facebook was even a concept.

I mean, take a spin around Facebook, or dating sites, and you'll see the same thing in guys: A number of them have that abs shot without their face, or they're clearly posing the pic to 'show off', so I don't think it's strictly the women that are sexualizing themselves, but the men too.

[revelarts]

Not Facebook's problem. This is a hardwired female issue made worse through technology.

But, if you need a simple solution: Delete your Facebook profile.

Problem solved.
Ah, the old "Just turn off the TV" supposed solution again.

And it might have a shot at working if your child was a hermit in your house, and under supervision 24/7.

But children have this little requirement called going out of the house. They go to school. They visit friends at their homes. They need internet access for school projects turning in homework, etc.

You will never be able to keep your child from seeing what's out there, so these technologies will affect them, like it or not.

Problem decidedly not solved.

People assume we HAVE TO be a part of the current CULTure but as parents we don't have to let kids do JACK.
If you lived in a very poor area filled with crime would you let your kids hang out with all the others kids and do everyhting they did if you could help it?
If you had to live in a muslum country would you allow you kids to go to Mouques just becuase all of the other kids are doing it and it's the "culture" or "soceity"?

I'm not saying you need to be Amish but there's no NEED for facebook. they can live without out it. Kids don't NEED a car. they don't Need a lot of stuff. you can't shield them from everyhting but you don't have to jion up or lay down to everything that comes down the road.

I know people raised in rough areas who never went outdoors after 6:30 pm except to special events in high school. their parents made them stay home. they says as kids they B*tched and moaned but they were among the few that went to college and left those nieghohoods while many of their class mates ended up in jail over and over, pregnant or dead.

If you think it's better to let them join in than not well that's a parents choice but it's not an impossible solution not easy but not impossible.


Because of my wife's job, and my job before; we don't allow the family to be part of social sites. My son never cared, my daughter is only 6 so time will tell how she feels about that rule.
mine will be 12 soon she doesn't have facebook either, neither do I, my wife does for biz but that's it.
no computer in her room, it's in my office. so far so good too.