Netsafe is warning Kiwi teens that sending nude images online could have untold consequences after Hawke's Bay Police reported a stark increase in the number of images being shared.
Speaking this morning to TVNZ 1's Breakfast programme, Netsafe's Sean Lyons said teens are sometimes put under immense pressure to provide such imagery.
"It's around 4 per cent of New Zealand teenagers who have actually taken and shared nude pictures of themselves," Mr Lyons said.
"Often those things are created with a partner in mind, but it can be someone with whom they are in an online-only relationship - someone they've never met but they consider to be their romantic partner.
The warning from Netsafe comes after Detective Sergeant Heath Jones told Stuff that it is growing increasingly more important for parents to talk to their teenagers early about the topic.
"They don't understand or care about the consequences their actions will have later in life," he said.
"In Hawke's Bay we know of children as young as 11 who are filming themselves whilst nude or semi-nude.
"The popular social websites are where the paedophile lives and poses as a young person trying to gain your child's trust."
Netsafe's Sean Lyons said the practice of nude selfie sharing is becoming normalised.
"When anyone's in a relationship, a big part of that is trusting the other person on the other side of that relationship, and thats often the climate in which they make these images.
"There is an expectation and, some people are pressurised by their partners [or] by their peers because they think it's normal."
Mr Jones said sites enabling video chat with total strangers were also being used by children, and unknown to them, they were sometimes being recorded by the person on the other end.
He said incidents can be managed effectively, often without police involvement, but that anyone who had concerns about their child's safety or believed they were the victim of a crime should call police.
"There is an acceptance amongst many of our youth that it's OK to send nude selfies intended for their own age group, but if the images are shared it can be devastating for them," Mr Jones said.
"Prevention is critical."
SHARE ME