Hey, kids: Have more self-respect than taking nude pics for attention

Let’s discuss nude photos for a second. They seem to be the latest trend. And thanks to people’s stupidity, they’re also the latest scandal.

It’s not uncommon for a celebrity to come forward and say they were hacked and that naked pics of them will soon be circulating on the internet. This is another one of those situations where you wonder if the victim should be blamed.

True, hacking, stealing and exploiting are wrong. At the same time, giving thieves motivation to do bad things is counterproductive.

A couple of years ago I was the victim of an attempted break-in. I was home at the time. But very quickly I was blamed for why the attack on my house happened. My parents were quick to point out that I had no lights on in the front so anybody passing by would assume nobody was home. Also, the trees in front of the house obstruct the back sidewalk so people were covered when trying to bust through the back door. I heard from parents and police that I made myself a target. OK, blame me for the stupidity. It’s my fault. I admit that.

Back to the nudie pic thing: The Canadian Centre for Child Protection has jumped into the game with a campaign to educate kids about how to deal with their own naked pic leaks. Seriously. It’s come to that.

My initial thought — and something I say to the hacked celebrities: “Well, just don’t take them.” Problem solved. If the pictures don’t exist, you have nothing to worry about.

A rep from the child agency said, “It’s not enough to say ‘don’t send a nude’ — the reality is it is happening. We need to be working together to get teens the help they need when the situation gets out of their control.”

Wait, wait, wait. Sending is one thing, taking is another. Educate them that they shouldn’t be taking the pic in the first place. After all, if they’re a minor, the kid is basically creating child porn. Worse yet, them distributing it is a crime.

Here’s what you do: Slap some charges on the kid and punish them. Yes, the person who stole/leaked/shared the pics is wrong (punish them, too) but then the person who created the illegal content should also be punished. Why not?

The campaign shouldn’t be about how to deal with leaked pics, the campaign should teach kids how to have more self-worth than to strip down just to get people to like them and garner attention.

See, I’ve never understood the idea of naked photos to keep on my phone (or other electronic device). I can look in the mirror and see myself naked so I’m not sure the reason for having them. Perhaps it’s for a partner or to get someone’s attention. Either way, the whole thing doesn’t make sense to me. (And before you jump and say I’m unattractive and gross so I shouldn’t take them – well, no. Just no.)

For someone who’s 36 and lives a healthy lifestyle, I have a great bod. But I have always preferred people to appreciate me for my mind and personality. That’s why I got into radio and newspaper back in the day. I wanted to intrigue people and get conversations started based on my opinion and what I had to say.

So I have no sympathy for kids, celebs, anyone who either sends out nudes and gets betrayed, or is hacked and has their intimate images splashed on the internet. Unless you are in complete control of your computer, cloud or whatever — you can’t trust technology to keep your secrets.