Sex and Tech

When I was a freshman in college, my room had a nice bathroom that I only had to share with four other girls. Since we had a bathtub, one night I decided to take a bubble bath. One of my roommates and I got a little silly and she started taking pictures of me in the tub with the bubbles strategically placed to cover my girly parts. It was fun at the time...but flash forward to when I finally got that roll of film developed (yes, this was before digital cameras). As I looked through the pictures it occurred to me that the guy at the film place — a guy I didn't even know — had seen me naked (almost!). I was mortified. That was the last time I took any "sexy" pictures of myself.

NOW flash forward to today, when you can easily take a topless picture of yourself on your cell phone and send it to a guy without really thinking about it. The problem is that if you decide you don't want other people seeing that picture, you may be too late — the guy may have already shown or forwarded it...to lots of people.

In a recent survey taken by cosmogirl.com in partnership with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy, we asked teens nationwide all sorts of questions about how common it is to send sexy pictures and text messages or to post them on your MySpace/Facebook profiles, and why you do it — even when you know there can be pretty embarrassing consequences. Check out our photo gallery of some of the most surprising results here, and also see the full results at thenationalcampaign.org. And even though we know you already know, it's worth taking a look at our list of things to consider before hitting send or post — sometimes the best advice just bears repeating, you know? So...if you've ever sent/posted a "suggestive" text or picture, why did you do it? Did you end up regretting it? Tell us!

And next time you take a bubble bath? Do yourself a favor...leave your camera outside the bathroom!

Love,
Susan