Girls’ Twitter exhibitionism

I could not believe my eyes at first. I wanted to believe they were photo-shopped or sophisticated computer graphics. But they were real. They were the pictures of teenage girls exhibiting their private parts on Twitter.

Twitter has numerous accounts claiming that they are teenage girls and posting naked body pictures. Users are attracted by in-your-face names like “elementary kids’ bosom♥,” “sexy middle school girls♥,” and “dirty high school girls.” These accounts generally have thousands or even tens of thousands followers. If one becomes a follower, one can see the postings and pictures in the Twitter account real-time.

When teenage girls post their naked body pictures, followers cheer and ask them to pose, take a picture and upload it. Then, the picture is posted. When teenage girls ask their followers to say dirty words so that they can feel humiliated, they spit out sex-related swearwords. But they never disclose their face or identity.

As the same pattern repeats, both teenage girls and their followers pursue more provocative things. The more exposure teenage girls make, the more followers they would get. Followers even say, “Wear stockings and take a picture. Then, sell me the stockings,” or “I’ll give you an online game item. Let’s meet up.”

I once suspected that adults were posting naked body pictures from the internet as if they were teenagers. However, most of the Twitter accounts seem to belong to teenage girls based on what they say and pictures. When an internet user asked, “Are you really a teenager and do you upload your picture?” he got a reply, “Yes, I am. If you doubt it, I won’t post a picture.”

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency had a crackdown on pornography on Twitter in March through June, and they caught ten minors who posted their naked body on Twitter. As they were young and first offsne, police did not prosecute them and gave them just guidance. A teenage girl who posted her naked picture on Twitter and was investigated by police said regretfully, “I wanted to get attention.” As the number of her followers skyrocketed, she increased the level of exposure. Think about how her mother would have felt.

Teenage girls posting naked pictures and their avid followers express wrong desire by taking advantage of the anonymity in Twitter. Teenage girls who want to gain attention and some internet users who want to fulfill their voyeurism meet each other’s needs in the anonymous space where they can join only with an email account.

I found the sadness of people lack of attention in modern society in teenagers who post their young body pictures asking for attention. What our children need is neither a high-priced jacket nor an expensive tutor but a little of attention in their daily lives. Don’t forget to ask your children today, “Did you eat something?” “What was special today?” and “What are you interested these days?” If possible, ask them (try to be calm), “Do you have a Twitter account?”

City Desk Reporter Cho Dong-joo (djc@donga.com)