Nude pix can mean trouble for teens

NEW YORK, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Experts say U.S. teenagers who post nude photos of themselves on the Internet or send them out in e-mails do not realize how public they can become.

"They think they're going to get attention -- that it makes them stars of their own reality show," Parry Aftab, an Internet privacy and piracy lawyer and consultant for ABC News told the network. "They don't understand the consequences."

Teens are also learning there can be legal consequences for sending nude pictures. A Newark, Ohio, teenager has been charged as a juvenile with sending pornography -- pictures of herself -- via her cell phone, and recipients who forwarded the pictures may also face charges.

Jean Kilbourne, author of "So Sexy, So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids," said teenagers have been overexposed to images of celebrities such as Britney Spears or Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus.

"Everybody feels that the most important thing is to get your 15 minutes of fame and to go to any lengths to achieve it, she said.