The kind of impact media have on teens has produced much of a talk for many Americans the past two decades. Before, what’s seen on TV and heard over the radio were mostly political that teens seem not to pay that much attention. However, the constant development of technology has made media the main avenue for entertainment and advertising.

But the problem is young people are manipulated and deceived by what it portrays in its different channels such as television, print, and the internet. Many experts and researchers have come to conclude that the media is able to influence teenagers, especially girls, to focus and be pressured by the way they look.

Advertising and marketing companies strive hard to compete with each other in order to promote their respective products and services. In order to do so, they have to use the media in order to reach and grab the interest of potential consumers. And after years of research and observation, they have realized that teenage girls are the most appealing group when it comes to advertising. As such, they come to portray girls as young as 12 as models for various types of commodity from beauty products, health and medicine, clothing, cars, and food.

By trend, a teen modeling for a beauty product in a magazine or a TV ad must look good in order for people to believe the product works. But what is the basic standard of looking good? For the media, it means that one should be slim, fair, and fit. Though this seems normal, the kind of message it relays to other teens can be misconstrued. When they are constantly exposed to those kinds of advertisement showing a certain standard for physical looks and perfect figure, they begin to feel the pressure of looking the same way.

What happens next is that a perception of always looking good, that means being fit and slim, is placed upon the mind of a normal American teenage girl. If she’s fat, has dark complexion, or is simply not that attractive, she begins to feel bad about herself. This feeling is aggravated whenever she sees another media advertisement showing a pretty and slim girl at front. What’s more alarming is when she starts to do outrageous measures just to attain the kind of physical standard set by the media. She begins to engage in constant workouts and exercise without complementing it with a proper diet plan. In fact, she may not eat at all, thinking it would be faster for her to slim down. In the end, she may incur health consequences that may change her life for good.

Finally, there’s really no exact science that will validate the negative effect of media advertising towards teenage girls. Nonetheless, it is more than obvious to see that excessive exposure to them entails a type of stereotyping that can be harmful for anyone, especially young children and teens.

Teenage girls nowadays are the most popular symbols of media advertising. From images, billboards, magazines, to television and motion picture, girls, or their bodies to be exact, are very effective in promoting a wide range of products and services such as clothing, food, beauty stuff, and even cars. Not to mention, even movies and TV shows are portraying a certain image for young women and teens to become trendsetters.

At first glance, there seems to be nothing wrong with the emphasis of beauty and body image of young women and teens in the media. All of us are entitled to become pretty and presentable to others. But the problem is a lot of people are influenced by this kind of portrayal in a very negative way.

For teens, advertising is in some way making a certain standard on how they should look and behave in real life. But mind you, all of it is just part of a larger scheme by companies in order to get the assurance that their products and services will sell in the market. So if you are thinking that the reason why young girls are targeted by advertising companies to promote virtually anything is because they’re good to look at, you’re wrong. The real reason is that they know that teenagers, especially young women attract a lot of attention and interest, not only from fellow young girls, but also boys and men.

Of course, who wouldn’t be attracted to a very pretty eighteen year old gracing the cover of FHM or Cosmopolitan, wearing almost nothing? Consequently, there can be a lot of negative implications for the viewing and reading public. One common downside is the fact that other teens have no choice but to try desperately in imitating the body and figure of models shown in advertisements. Young girls go to the extent of starving themselves just to lose weight and look slim just like the models they envy. As for teenage boys, they start to believe that women are merely objects of sexuality. The moment they see someone wearing miniskirts or bikinis, they get the perception that all women promote and allow sexual promiscuity.

Although women outnumber men in the population, they are still the ones who are considered as minority when it comes to representation in society. Because of this, they don’t have the same control compared to men with regards to things like decision and policy making, producing societal trends, and influencing the media. To say the least, men dominate the media and what’s shown in them. And as a consequence, women are the victims of a wrong media portrayal and symbolism.

When you try to access the internet, television, or print media, you’ll see that women are shown and revealed with a sexual stereotype. They become an effective means of advertising and grabbing interest from viewers and consumers. For instance, the fashion and clothing industry use them as their most convincing tool in order to attract people in buying their products. When a company sells lingerie, what’s portrayed in television, web, and print media are images of women wearing the products.

Though this seems perfectly normal, there is actually a negative side to it. For years now, media has gone as far as using younger girls and teens as models for various advertisements and marketing campaigns. Even ten to twelve year old girls are labeled as young women. They are asked to wear very tight and small outfits and for some instances, underwear, bikini, or lingerie. Others meanwhile pair these young women who are barely of legal age with men while they show signs and symbols of sexuality.

The thing is this kind of stereotyping leads to a public perception that the primary role of a woman in society is being a sexual object and symbol. And when this happens, there’s a very big chance that the same perception will eventually lead to abuse and exploitation. Men will create a kind of image degrading the sacredness and disrespecting the opposite sex.

As for a woman’s side, she is led to believe that she must be able to emulate what she sees in the media – in which she should be slim, sexy, and thin in order to be accepted. She must wear the same clothes models wear in magazines and that she must act the same way.

These types of images and portrayal are surely way out of line, especially if we consider the moral and ethical side to it. There is certainly more to a young woman than just being a sex symbol and an object for eroticization. And all of this is pretty blamed on what the media is trying to falsely reveal. If media trend continues, women become powerless, degraded, and eventually disrespected in all aspects.

When we talk about the relationship between media and teens, the numbers may be too disturbing, yet very true. Just imagine this; almost thirty years ago a Nielsen Report revealed that the average American girl watches an outrageous number of five thousand hours of TV, and that stat covers the period before she even starts going to kindergarten. How’s that for a fact?

It is quite obvious that the more a person hooks himself up with something, the more he becomes influenced by it. It is the same as saying that an African American teenager will likely embrace hip hop and rap music rather than country songs since the former are the ones he is exposed the most.

The same goes for television. When children and young teens become addicted to it, they start to emulate what they see in it. It is okay if all the stuff shown in TV is good, wholesome, and within ethical standards. But of course, we know for a fact that majority of TV programs portray some sort of negative material that can be very harmful for our children. For instance, watching the news exposes them to unfortunate and relatively violent events that take place in the real world like killing, war and conflict, accidents, disasters, and other similar stuff. Additionally, watching movies can at first seem to be perfectly fine and normal. But as soon as they get to see acts like murder, sexual promiscuity, violent behavior, and profanity, they begin to think of them as something that’s positive and good to follow or imitate.

Without most parents knowing, television is the most influential factor in shaping a child or teenager’s behavior in the real world. Though mom and dad cannot recall teaching their son how to hold a gun, they are shocked to see him point it at them. Though a couple’s daughter is only eight years old, she seems well informed with some sexually related stuff and activities.

If these things happen to your children or teens, they may be watching too much television. But remember, we aren’t saying here that TV makes them bad. It’s just that the excessive exposure to it can definitely lead to negative consequences like violent behavior, sexual inclination, and aggressive stance towards other people in general.

American schools encounter bullying issues more often than most academic institutions abroad. There’s no proof but it seems like many American children and teens possess behavioral problems that link them to eventually becoming bullies at school.

There have been many solutions and methods used by different schools but most of them actually did not result into something worthy for recognition. For instance, complex disciplinary methods and school based consultation have not made a strong impact towards curbing the problem.

Nevertheless, it does not mean that bullying isn’t preventable. In fact, there are ways to stop it once and for all. What we’re emphasizing here though is that the usual and traditional methods schools offer to parents as some sort of guarantee are obsolete and ineffective. Long term punishment, detention, classroom discussions, and one-on-one counseling used to be effective means of curing bullying but the current behavioral pattern and makeup of the new generation of children and teens have made all of them very unproductive.

What’s needed perhaps is an organized effort to change the whole perception towards the issue. What we mean here is that we should go back to square one and lay it all out as if the problem is new. A collective effort implies the participation of every person in school from teachers, parents, administrators, staff, and social workers.

Since bullying is a very complex behavioral problem, solving the issue should not be a case-to-case basis. The approach should be targeted to the whole, not just the individual cases of children or teens who bully their fellow students. The group should be able to find out what ignites bullies to commit violence and threats and what kind of culture change should be done to at least revise the environment that forces them to behave in such unstable manner.

While most Americans don’t realize it, street children is a predominant issue in the lesser developed nations. Unlike child prostitution and forced labor, it is very hard, perhaps impossible to count or estimate the number of street children around the world. This is attributed to the fact that majority of them are found in the poorest countries in the world where support and advocacy for children are almost zero.

If you have been in the streets of Africa or Southeast Asia, you’re probably used to seeing children begging for food or money in the streets while you’re walking or perhaps stopping at a red light. Some sell candies and cigarettes while others try to wash windshields and car windows for a dime. Whatever their method is, reality is the same – they live in the streets with no one to provide food, care and shelter for them.

For these unfortunate people, painting a bright future is impossible. Every day is just a fight for survival and there’s no guarantee of being able to wake up for another day. It is a social issue that has been ignored by governments and overshadowed by other child concerns like prostitution and trafficking.

Nonetheless, the kind of suffering street children get is pretty much the same to that of those subjected to prostitution and forced labor. They may even resort to joining others to work or become child prostitutes in the hope of alleviating themselves from the harsh condition in the streets.

The largest blame is placed on the government. The inclusion of health care, education, and livelihood programs for the poor is the primary means of saving these people from gracing the streets. But if a certain government does not have an adequate program for them, then there’s no way to clear the streets with children begging for life and food. Most of the time, poverty becomes too complicated to solve most governments just acquiesce and move on with it.

The news is the best source of information for all people. It provides the latest updates on all aspects of society, from social issues, environmental concerns, politics, events, sports, and entertainment. At first glance, it seems like there’s no negative effect. However, the current trend in delivering the news has become quite harmful and unhelpful for children.

Whether we like it or not, children always have access to television. This entails that they too can see and hear the news frequently. Radio, newspapers, internet, and magazines are the other media that supply it.

But the problem is a child does not absorb the news the way adults do. In fact, unfortunate scenes and events seen in it can cause and instill fear and anxiety for the child. Sadly, not all news content is wholesome. Some contain graphic material and obscene stuff that a child is not even allowed to view.

Looking at the current trend, the change in how news is delivered has put a significant risk for children to be exposed in negative and bad material. The following are common examples:

- 24/7 news coverage of hostilities, conflicts, war, and other forms of bloody violence.
- Real-time coverage of accidents, disasters, people arguments, and others.
- Detailed report on private lives of different personalities including actors, politicians, entertainers, icons, sportsmen, and even ordinary people.
- Visual depiction of violent, dangerous, and risky stunts like in the movies, sports, and shows.

- Shows that illustrate sexual inclination, perversion, and exhibitionism.

These are the kinds of things children often see in the television and the news. By being subjected to it mostly on a daily basis, they tend to imitate and emulate what they see. Violence and anything like of course may correspond to negative behavior and we don’t want our kids to grow and mature having been influenced by the kind of uncensored content they see in the news.  Though it’s impossible to deny them their right to watch television, the best remedy a parent can do is accompany and guide the child while he’s watching and be sure he’s not getting something he isn’t really supposed to see in the first place.

It’s kind of disturbing to learn that girls are likely more prone to bullying than boys. In fact, a research from the University of Warwick and Hertfordshire revealed that girls are favorite victims of bullies in school and the possibilities are two folds compared to the chances boys get.

According to the study, girls can be bullied as early as six years old and the practice may continue until the age of ten. As parents, the pain is unimaginable knowing our child has been bullied for four years and not until she reaches adult age, we cannot identify if there are lifetime effects to it.

School and neighborhood bullying can be very traumatic to the child, physically and emotionally. The nature of it changes from time to time and the pattern of abuse may actually reveal the kind of personality the child may develop years after the bullying.

Direct and physical bullying involves the use of force and threats to inflict injury to the victim while relational bullying is done in order to socially alienate the victim from other people and friends through methods like spreading false accusations, vandalism, gossip, and negative campaign against the victim.

Additionally, bullying has lead to more girls dropping out of school just to avoid it, only to find out that there’s another set of bullies in the next school. This trend then becomes very alarming for the state of primary education in the country since young boys and girls hesitate to go to school because of the fear of being bullied.

Lastly, the physical and emotional torment brought about by the effects of bullying will likely lead to endless trauma and fear for the victim. Some young victims may resort to suicide while others are able to live through it but may actually show tangible effects of the past bullying experience.

Facebook and other previous social networking sites were specifically designed to provide a community for old friends to unite and for making new ones. Nearly all internet users have their own profile in these websites where people can find and correspond with them.

But recently, Facebook became a hotbed for cyberbullying issues. Aside from being used as a friendly environment for communicating with friends, it has also been utilized by other people to harm someone by means of using a separate and fake Facebook profile.

Cyberbullying is a form of harassment where an offender taunts, embarrasses, threatens, or shows any kind of hostile behavior towards another person through the use of information and communication technology like the internet and mobile phones. One reason why online bullying is more vicious than other forms of bullying is because it can be done continuously without revealing the real identity of the offender.

The use of fake profiles and email provides a sort of immunity for the offender who consistently harasses his victim. The painful reality is that there are victims who cannot anymore withstand the emotional torture of bullying so they even resort to taking their own lives to escape it. And since majority of social networking site members are teens, a large number of cyberbullying victims are also teens.

Just imagine this: many American teens suffer and experience schoolyard bullying only to get home, use the computer, and again subject himself to another form of bullying in the web. For a vulnerable young-aged individual, consequences can be very devastating, and even deadly.

It’s a good thing though that Facebook has made significant steps to counter the vulnerability of its members in online bullying. With the help of Safetyweb.com, they have inserted a link called “Find Help” which is an application that seeks to give users an option to ask for help and report any kind of abuse or threat they see to Facebook officials.

Although this is just a minor step towards the goal of completely eradicating the problem, some States have actually made crucial strides to address it. For instance, California recently passed a law penalizing anyone who harms or tries to harm others by using the internet as medium. Penalty may consist of a fine amounting to $1,000 and a one year stint behind bars. But of course, we’re still hoping other states will soon pass their own legislation to stop cyberbullying.

Almost half of car accidents in the United States are blamed on teen drivers. Not that they should be banned from driving, it’s just that serious measures should be done in order to limit road accidents that involve them.

Getting a first car is every teenager’s dream. But in reality, driving takes more than having a license and learning to handle the wheel. In fact, it involves many things that a teen needs to know just to secure a safe driving experience away from harm and danger from the road. Driving is a very serious responsibility every teen should be willing to embrace if he wants to grab that dream car.

Adolescence is a precarious time in life where kids are transitioning into adulthood. Part of this transition is the inevitable attraction to the opposite sex and the desire to be in relationships. These feelings are perfectly natural and normal. The problem comes when our modern society establishes an idea of “regular” dating that is immoral and damaging to teens.

Let’s take a look at what the world says is a normal dating life for a teenager today and then contrast it with a godly view of what dating should look like.

What the world says through popular media and other venues:

- It’s normal for teens to have sex when they’re dating
- If you don’t want to have sex with someone you’re dating, it’s okay to do all other kinds of sexual acts
- If you want people to be attracted to you, you need to change yourself because who you are isn’t good enough
- Teenage girls should try to dress sexy if they want guys to like them. Guys are cool if they can “score” with a lot of girls.

Here’s a contrast from a godly viewpoint:

-  Sex is the most intimate expression of love. The truest sexual satisfaction comes from a man and woman who are committed to each other for life in marriage. If a teen enters into a sexually active relationship with no real commitment, they are walking into a trap of heartache and emotional scars.
- All forms of sex acts are intimate and holy. Saving yourself means saving all of yourself.
- God loves you just the way you are, and so should anyone who wants to date you
- Girls and boys both need to respect their own bodies and love themselves before they can find any happiness in relationships with others.

Bottom line, it is possible for teens to have dating relationships and not compromise themselves so long as boundaries are respected. Parents, do not back down on this. You can’t force a teenager to follow your rules, but you can inspire them to think about their future, rather than just listen to their hormones.  They might go on dates with a group of friends and at social events, of course, but they have to keep a perspective on the “big picture” of their life. Most kids do have some sort of hope in having a spouse and family someday.  Remind them that they can start showing love to their future spouse by saving themselves.

We can accept the fact that alcohol abuse, violence, and sex are likely common occurrences for any teenager’s life. Nonetheless, it’s another thing if drug abuse is involved.

When it comes to illegal use of drugs, American teens may actually be ranked in the top ten in the world. But it does not mean we are ought to accept it as it is. Study and statistics show that thousands of teens use drugs and some even become addicted in as early as the 8th grade.

Obviously, marijuana is the most popular and cheap source. But the problem for most teen users is that it is very difficult to obtain one. So as a sort of desperation, they resort to prescription medicine. The reason is because it is easier to obtain and it is much cheaper.

Vicodin is a pain reliever that can be bought with a prescription. Teens learn to abuse it through knowledge and advice from friends and acquaintances. Another common remedy is cough medicine. This type can be obtained with no suspicion from anyone but it takes more than a bottle to actually get someone high.

But the thing is the relationship of a teenager to that of drug use is getting more alarming these days since even cabinet medicine and prescription drugs like Ritalin, Xanax, Vicodin, and Valium are becoming very popular remedies for methamphetamine, cocaine, steroids, or marijuana.

Instead of providing cure and prevention for pain and sickness, these things are more likely to harm our teens. Therefore, this kind of false notion towards prescription medicine should be erased immediately before every American teen feels they desperately need it.

Parents should therefore make drastic measures that will prevent teens from getting a hold of prescription drugs that they don’t actually need. Teenagers and children should not be allowed to take one without any advice or permission from adults.

Child abuse varies in many cases. For the victims, it may be in the form of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. But the different forms do not actually hide the fact that all the victims suffer a lifetime trauma that majority of them cannot even endure for what remains of their lives.

By definition, child abuse is the act of harming a child or minor through various means that can inflict physical, psychological, emotional, or mental trauma. It does not draw any line or boundary as to who fall as victims since it occurs in any type of race, ethnicity, class, gender, or age in society.

As to the extent of the abuse, many children become traumatized throughout their entire lifetime while others luckily survived and move on with the experience. Unfortunately, there are others who suffer and die while being abused.

Depending on the nature, here is the classification of common signs of child abuse:

1. Physical

- Obvious body injuries such as bruises, cuts, and burns.
- Serious physical injuries like broken bones, deep cuts, and lacerations.
- Signs of neglect such as undernourishment, untidiness, dirty clothes, and unhealthy condition.

2. Emotional/psychological abuse

- Hostile, aggressive, and violent behavior.
- Aloof and unfriendly to people even parents and relatives.
- Does not want to talk to people and suddenly avoids friends without explanation.
- Afraid to go to public places.

3. Sexual abuse

- Stained and bloodied underwear or clothes.
- Pain in genitals.
- Swelling in parts or around the genital area.
- Frequent fear of other people.
- Likes to talk about sexual activities even at such a young age.

Parents often commit the mistake of misinterpreting the signs of depression on their teenage children. Since every child experiences a sudden change of attitude and some mood swings right after reaching puberty, parents frequently construe these personality problems as something normal and usual. But the sad truth is the issue might actually be more than common growing up problems. Eventually, most of us realize that there’s actually more to it when it’s all too late.

Depression among teens is very common these days and the effects can be very devastating. It can lead to suicidal tendencies and/or violent behavior. The thing is most parents ignore signs of depression thinking that there’s a very slim chance their teens may actually be experiencing them.

In reality however, teen depression is felt by thousands of teens and adolescents. As parents, it’s our job to protect our children from it by knowing the signs. And by knowing, prevention is highly possible. So if you have a sure feeling that your teen is showing those signs, here are the things you might want to do to help:

1. The first and most important action is talk with your teen. You tell him that something’s bothering you about his condition and that you’re suspecting he’s having depression issues. Be frank about it. Tell him what you know about depression and relate to him that most of the signs pinpoint to him. By doing so, you get to indirectly ask what’s actually bothering him. He might find some excuse or answers in defense but the main thing is you have showed him that you’re there to help and care.

2. After, convince (not force) him to see a doctor. Be certain to assure him that you will go with him. For most teen depression cases, physical trauma or abuse may be causes of showing depression symptoms. There’s no other way in finding out than seeking the help of a doctor.

3. Also, try to revisit or examine your teen’s medical history. Ask questions like: has he been diagnosed with behavioral disorders before? Are there any signs from the medical history that he’s been depressed before?

4. Psychologists are also well equipped and trained to handle these kind of teen depression issues so seeking their help is also advisable. Tell your child that you will go there not for therapy but as consultation only. Do not make him suddenly feel that he’s sick.

5. Most of all, there is no need to talk to anyone about your child’s condition. Although you are suspecting a depression, there are no solid proofs yet and if in case there is, there is still no point in telling anyone about it. Remember that your teen is at a very early stage of his life and he may become very sensitive to those kinds of issues.

A decade ago, Southeast Asia was the focus of international advocacy and fight against child prostitution. The Thai-Cambodian border was once a hotbed of child trafficking. But in reality, majority of the clients are not from Asia but from the other parts of the world.

Americans, Europeans, and Australians comprise the largest number of pedophiles and child sex offenders who roam the globe just to attain sexual satisfaction by physically abusing children and minors. And since there exists a strong campaign in Asia today against traffickers, child prostitution has shifted focus.

The number of children sexually abused and exploited in Central America is rising so fast that child rights groups are getting increasingly alarmed. The nature of the prostitution business in the region is however very different to that of Southeast Asia. Traffickers who provide child prostitutes in prostitution dens in Asia are labeled as criminals and must evade the law. But in Central America, child prostitution is more like business and tourism.

Why? Because many Americans and Europeans flock to countries like Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Guatemala to find a place where sexually abusing a child is much more like an acceptable norm.

It’s kind of usual to see child prostitutes hanging out in bars and hotels – about 40 million of them. That’s why this kind of exploitation is like a leach that sticks to anything that does not react. Since Latin American governments tolerate the crime, it’s much easier for traffickers and offenders to practice their trade without having to worry about being caught and apprehended.

One of the strongest reasons why these governments seem to tolerate child prostitution is because it provides major contribution to tourism in the country and that many children are somewhat given an opportunity to earn money for themselves and perhaps escape poverty. Nonetheless, being a child prostitute is still not the best way out of it.

When a child undergoes normal growth and development, anxiety and fear are two things that will definitely surface. As a parent, it is your job to control and make sure your child will not be consumed by it as he grows and matures.

A child normally manifests fear at such a young age and that’s perfectly normal. But when at a certain point, the fear persists and becomes more like a habit, and then anxiety disorder might be consuming your child. It is a socially immobilizing condition that can place a great risk for your child’s well-being. Thus, it is something that’s beyond normal and needs a specific type of medication or at least, intervention.

In the American child population, six or seven percent are prone to suffering anxiety disorders while a third of it can be considered as having habitual anxiety and the rest have strong phobias. While different and varying conditions and stimuli contribute to anxiety, the effects are almost similar. It includes:

- Childhood social phobia                                         
- Obsessive compulsive disorder
- Phobia
- Separation anxiety disorder

However, anxiety problems for your child do not mean it’s the end of the road. Treatment and therapy are always possible and most of the time, they disorder can be manageable. Child anxiety disorder management can be done through family therapies, child and parental training, and psychiatric help.

The American public keeps on denying the actual state of child abuse and trafficking in this country. For one, we aren’t like Cambodia or Thailand. But then again, who says we don’t have sex trafficking problems?

Child prostitution and sex trafficking is tangibly existing in this part of the world, no matter how strong you may oppose. Feds will tell you that Georgia and Nevada are notable states to mention when talking about the rising number of child prostitutes, but in fact, all states do have a certain degree of concern with regards to exploiting and abusing children.

The most obvious reason for the sudden rise of child sexual exploitation cases in the United States is the internet. Unlimited online access has given sex offenders a very good arena to establish their trade, not to mention boundless potentials and opportunities. Criminal groups who run trafficking rings even label it as the largest market and medium there is.

With the advantage of the web, communication between traffickers and potential clients are done online. This means that there are lesser risks of being caught and no law or jurisdiction can easily track the operation of any child exploitation business. The web as we all know provide a kind of private and discreet exchange of material for different people and the only way authorities find out that someone is actually conducting child abuse business is when there is a reason for the feds to believe so.

What we’re saying here is that there’s no practical and effective means of tracking child exploiters and traffickers who carry out their business online. And since every American home has a computer and internet connection, there’s the greater chance for children to be victimized by these people.

According to the Wall Street Journal, there has been a significant decrease in prison time for people convicted of child pornography in the last four years. Although there is an existing advisory guideline released by the US Supreme Court concerning maximum penalties to be meted out towards convicted child pornographers, more and more local courts are leaning towards the lesser punishment for them.

We have seen a lot of exploitation and abuse in the internet that has mostly targeted children and teens. From pornography, hacking, harassment, to bullying, online predators and offenders are getting what they want going largely unpunished.

Recently, another form of abuse sexual in nature emerged. This time, it looks very distinct to other previous forms of exploitation since it primarily involves someone extorting another person to provide sexual and explicit content like videos and images.

Sextortion, as it is commonly called, refers to the act of obtaining pictures, images, videos, and other forms of media from a specific individual and using these materials to blackmail and force the person to provide additional personal sexually explicit content containing him/her. If the victim does not give in to the blackmail, the culprit will then threaten to distribute the same material to family, friends, and the public in general.

Sextortion does not necessarily go to the extent of asking for actual sexual favors. Most of the time, the offender goes far as infiltrating ones’ computer by means of hacking or any other related tactics just to dig in and find files that can embarrass and humiliate someone if revealed to the public. The same as other sexual offenders, anyone who uses sextortion does not care about money or profit. The sole purpose is to get sexual stimulation out of other person’s misery.

Sextortionists, if we can call them as such, are far cleverer though compared to a common online predator or pedophile. He has the ability to use computer and programming skills to extract vital personal profiles such as credit card information, banking statements, passwords and access codes, and other pertinent private data.

Teens and young adults are the likely victims because of their vulnerability and openness. People at this age love to explore sexual curiosities and such personality puts them right into the opportunistic hands of sex offenders and pedophiles. There are various states that penalize sexual extortion but until now, there has been no significant step made to look deeper into this growing problem.

After years of investigation, recording, surveillance, and convictions, federal authorities have acquiesced to the fact that Atlanta is the leading city in child prostitution cases. After so many years of aggressive campaigns and advocacies, it is unfortunate to learn that there’s still almost five hundred child and minor prostitutes in Atlanta and majority of this number are people aged 14 or younger.

A lot of prostitution laws were changed and Atlanta PD even created a special task force in order to curb the problem. The public were even invited in meetings and forums to share whatever they can. But still, the problem looms and there’s no stopping for this very lucrative business.

The main issue in Atlanta is that many young women are becoming more stable as soon as they enter the prostitution trade. What happens is that children below 18 who find life miserable and money absent resort to prostitution in order to be independent and self-sufficing. After which they eventually develop a strong and loyal bond with a pimp who looks for the customers for her.

As a manifestation of trust and loyalty, child prostitutes often do not cooperate with the police when they are caught. They are keener to protecting their jobs as well as the identities of their pimps.

As for crime networks that run the show there is always bigger money in child prostitution. In a way they become more confident when using children since they are easier to convince, intimidate, or deceive.

The problem is in fact growing for the entire state of Georgia. Without anyone providing an aggressive attention and solution towards the issue, we might be expecting a hundred percent increase in the number of child prostitutes in the state in no time and that’s horrible.