No one can keep a secret.
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Every time you share a topless photo of yourself and text it to someone, consider what it would be like to have that person's best friend, and then that person's girlfriend, and that person's cousin, and that persons' grandmother see you in the buff. That's the idea behind Brazilian Agency Propel's latest Safer Net anti-sexting campaign.
Safer Net is a nonprofit dedicated to preventing Internet crimes, like the proliferation of child pornography and identity theft. Perhaps just as persuasive as the demise of Anthony Weiner's political career, this sexting hall of mirrors has one exacting message: the internet is boundless. "The internet can't keep a secret. Keep your privacy offline," the ad urges. For the overwhelming one in four teens that admit to sexting at least once in their lives, and the perplexing 55 percent of girls and 48 percent of boys that have claimed to engage in unwanted sexting, they probably can't be hit with images like this enough.
Currently there's only two states in the United States with laws directly addressing revenge porn, New Jersey and California, and those laws have imperfections in the form of First Amendment loopholes. If the law can't help curb a behavior that both the teenage libido and social pressures endorse, then nonprofit watchdogs will have to turn to other, more engaging ways to get teens to think about the consequences of sexting a classmate. Sexy, sly posters are a smart step.
Problem-of-the-week teen dramas like Gossip Girl and Degrassi have edged upon boobs-meet-world episodes aimed at teens, but to melodramatic and forgettable effect. That's why the Safer Net ad is clever, compelling, and refreshing. Is there a slut-shaming component of Safer Net's mirror campaign? That's not the intent. Though it is a topless woman who's at the center of the sext relay, it could easily be a man pulling down his shorts for a dick pic. Regardless of gender, the ad is a perfect illustration that everyone is responsible when a sext goes viral. Even the unsuspecting grandfather at the end of the line.
[h/t Design Taxi]
Image via Safer Net.