ARIZONA NEWS

App opening new avenues for sexting

Feb 13, 2013, 6:01 PM | Updated: 6:01 pm

A new app, Snapchat, could open a gateway to indecency for its young users.

According to wjactv.com,, Snapchat is a new smartphone app that allows a user to take a picture and immediately send it to a friend, with the photo being deleted from the senders phone.

According to Social media scholar Rey Junco, Snapchat is frequently used as a “sexting” outlet, which is when people text each other nude photos of themselves.

“People think it is better not to put it on Facebook,” said teenager Megan McGowan. “With Snapchat because it automatically erases, there are no consequences,” she said.

Social media experts say that the best way to avoid scenarios such as these is for parents to talk with their kids about the dangers of such actions and not to police what they do, for that could lead to secret accounts and the discovery of more way for kids to do these things in secret.

Junco also said that parents should try to build a strong relation ship with their kids and “if you want to see what is going on in their social media: ask them.”

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App opening new avenues for sexting