LITA CHAKRABORTY probes the trend that appears here to stay, never mind the dangers
The naughty chapter of the internet is sure going to be on Santa’s ‘lump of coal’ list this season too. Akshara Haasan recently filed a complaint with the cyber cell that her ‘private and intimate’ pictures were leaked on to the internet. Akshara’s images have made their way into the murky cesspool of ‘leaked’ naked pictures within the voyeuristic world of surfers. The very same infamous hall of shame which boasts of explicit pictures of Hollywood stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Miley Cyrus, Kristen Stewart… as well as Bollywood stars like Riya Sen, Kalki, Esha Gupta. Apparently, Akshara had sent her private pictures to one of her close friends way back in 2003, and they have now been mysteriously leaked. The spunky gal has filed a police complaint and is determined to book the culprits for this cyber crime.
Getting racy
Jennifer Lawrence
However be assured, it is not only celebrities whose racy pictures get leaked. A source from the cyber-crime segment insists that there are hundreds of such cases that are filed throughout India wherein intimate pictures on the cellphone or saved on the computer are misused and have landed into the ‘hell hole’ portals of the Internet.
The million dollar question arises: What actually makes people click their own intimate pictures on their smart phones and save it in the first place? After all, they can always be misused or leaked.
According to statistics shared by Internet Data, a leading world research group based in India, one out of seven teenagers are sexting, sharing intimate pictures or receiving explicit videos and images on their smartphones or via the Internet every 30 minutes.
Ferzeen Firodi, a Mumbai-based psychologist, avers, “If you have a camera, nude pictures will be clicked. This is the current trend amongst youngsters and however much you denounce it, it is a fact that sharing one’s (s)explicit pictures has risen over the years. In fact, talk to any youngster, and he or she is completely cool about it.”
Ferzeen continues, “With the introduction of the smart ‘camera’ phones, love talk has evolved into sharing explicit images and videos. To top it, a whole host of apps like Tinder and Snapchat claim that just tapping the screen makes sharing steamy pictures a piece of cake. So it’s easy, free and, for them, exciting.”
Like it or not, narcissism is also the mark of our times. “It’s the self-absorbed ‘selfie’ world we live in these days. Youngsters follow the ‘have camera, will click’ policy and capture themselves in all moods and that transcends into also taking pictures of their private parts. Furthermore, there are various apps and photo edits that can make you look like a super hottie so it is rather exciting for them to share pictures of their ‘honed’ body parts. More so, if they believe that they are in a ‘committed’ relationship, they see no harm in sharing intimate pictures with each other. For short term relationships, sexting or sharing explicit pictures is a way of hooking up. For a committed relationship, it’s virtual intimacy,” adds Firodi.
Evidently, the exhibitionism stems from a lack of self-esteem. For such people, exposing and sharing their revealing pictures is the quickest way to get validation. The thinking can be extremely dangerous as these pictures knowing or unknowingly can find their way into the Internet. After all, the virtual world is a bit crazy, with even have 15-year-old net geniuses who can hack or retrieve data at their whim.
Picture etiquette
Kalki Koechlin
Try not to save explicit pictures in the first place. But if you do have steamy pictures of yourself or someone else, get it password-protected and stash them in a secure place.
Be very careful when you send pictures of your intimate bits to your close friends. If there are two Rahuls on your phone, make sure you don’t end up sending them to the wrong one. This momentary error could become a huge mistake. Stop sending explicit pictures especially with your face on them to your ex, somebody you just met on the net or casually.
Practice principled sex etiquette. If you do have your ex’s or partner’s nude pictures saved on your phone, it’s not cool to upload them on the net for all to see. Be sensitive and realise that behind the racy pictures, there are emotions attached. Further, the cyber crime section in India will trace and book you for it.
Tech solution
Today, there are apps that can protect your pictures. From hiding your image folders to cropping them, there are ways to ensure your private pictures remain ‘for your eyes’ only. Use the internet to find out more about these apps. For instance, if you have a Samsung phone, it has a private mode which can stash your pictures away from local storage. iOS 8 has a sophisticated redesigned photo section, and if you know your iPhone well, it has a hide button inside the photo segment – use it. For iPhone, download apps like Private Photo Vault and for androids, Gallery Lock Lite will help password-protect your pictures.
Celeb say
“It is sad that someone’s privacy is invaded when ‘racy’ pictures are leaked, and furthermore when some publications and portals are not even sensitive enough, and go about sharing them which adds more fuel to the fire. It can happen to any of us but as a girl, I can only imagine what Akshara must be going through.”
Parul Gulati, Film and TV actor
“A cellphone is a very private thing, and nowadays, there are various kind of lock codes, that can make it very secure. There’s no harm in clicking intimate pictures. Some people click it as a journal for it gives a good account of how one’s body was in say February to what it is in July. Some people are very comfortable in their skin and love to click themselves. Even my phone has intimate pictures that are personal to me which I will never upload on the social media. Why do people click intimate pictures on their phone? Well, it’s their choice and it’s no big deal. However, it is so unfortunate that some people are so jobless that they misuse someone else’s private pictures. It’s a shame and such people should be punished.”
Angela Krislinzki, Model and actress