Teens warned to think twice over nude posts

Detective Sergeant Mark Moorhouse urges teens to think twice about 'sexting' and nude imagery. Photo/Supplied

"If it feels wrong, then don't do it."

These are the words of Detective Mark Moorhouse, directed at teenagers who may be thinking about sharing nude images online.

Police are urging parents and caregivers to take drastic action after a rise in nude posts and videos on social media from Hawke's Bay teenagers.

Detective Sergeant Heath Jones is now telling parents and caregivers to "wake up" after a number of investigations into nudity and social media around the region.

"We really want to push this safety message for parents and caregivers. I believe there's a global shift in the culture with kids and there's more acceptance around nudity and posting things on the internet."

Jones found that a number of teens usually go online to game, but could easily be lured into online chat rooms or inappropriate websites.

"Some teenagers will start video chatting or sharing images and aren't actually aware that the person on the other end could be filming them.

"Schools have welcomed us to discuss this topic last year. Images and videos are being shared around schools as well; one teacher said it's something they're dealing with daily.

"A lot of this is cyber bullying though, that's a biggie, another topic that is vitally important is suicidal ideology around bullying and around nudity as well."

The youngest person in Hawke's Bay to be discovered posting inappropriate material online was only 11 years old.

Police were able to track the girl thanks to international authorities finding her online and then getting in touch with a national centre in New Zealand. Hawke's Bay Police were notified within a week of her posting online and were able to intervene.

Sergeant Moorhouse said parents, caregivers and education centres need to take action and educate their children from an early age about the dangers of posting images and videos online, not to mention exposure to sexualised images and pornography.

"Kids are really good at parroting behaviours and we're finding that there's been an increase in sexualised behavior in very young kids and essentially that could be to what they're being exposed to online.

"There needs to be a lot more ownership taken by parents and caregivers on what their kids are doing online."

"We've been doing presentations to parents in primary schools, as well as presentations in association with the Ministry of Education. We've also held talks directed at Year 9 and 10 kids.

"We've also focused on older high school kids where we talk about healthy relationships and what constitutes consent, with a big push on educating on what consent actually is."

Although police have been faced with the concern across Hawke's Bay, it's a nationwide and global issue.

Moorhouse is asking youth to think about what they're doing before sending images to one another or posting anything online.

"Once you've put it out into cyber space, regardless of whether you think it's disappeared, there are apps out there where people can screenshot and keep videos.

"You need to consider all those factors before you post something like that online. But our recommendation is that you don't," he said.