When I was 13-15 I was going through a tough time – I had family problems, and didn’t really have a lot of friends. And I guess I was eager for attention, for some kind of praise, acceptance… All of this, plus the fact that I wasn’t very bright, resulted in me taking loads of n*** photos, sending them to people I hadn’t even met, even posting a few on a tumblr p*** page… (I lied about my age).
When I was 17, over all of that and awfully shameful of that period in my life, I got blackmailed by an unknown facebook user, that had somehow gotten hold of my previous photos. They asked me to send them more nudes or else they would send the photos to my whole high school, to all of my friend list… I complied, because I was terrified. I tried the tactic of being nice, in hopes that they would feel compassion towards my situation.
Today, I’m 18. I live in fear of those photos ever surfacing. This is exactly why we should talk to kids about all of this stuff – nobody ever warned me about how what you put on the internet never goes away, that a few photos may jeopardize your whole life in the future. Nobody ever had the s** talk with me, or, for that matter, the internet talk. I know many others didn’t get those talks either and didn’t make the same mistakes – but not all of us are smart enough to catch on at 14.
And I hope those photos never see the light of day. I am so ashamed and embarrassed.