Call to deal with persons who post porn videos

Health Psychologist Dr Jozelle Miller thinks that unless persons are held accountable for their actions when it comes to posting home-made porn videos and other illicit material online, the exposure and shaming is going to continue.

“One of the biggest things is the lack of accountability, persons feel that social media is a way they can get away with a lot of things…we have the Cybercrime Bill but it is not being fully implemented and until persons realize that these are things that can actually affect their lives they will keep doing it,” Dr Miller told SEARCHLIGHT during a telephone interview yesterday.

Miller’s comments come on the heels of a video which began makingthe rounds on social media this week showing a male and female student engaging in sexual activity on a flight of steps at the Grammar School Playing Field. The act was filmed by another student sometime after 4 p.m. last Tuesday and posted on social media.

Dr Miller is encouraging persons who make and post these videos to take a number of things into consideration before doing so.

“…realize that it is very detrimental to the person. Yes people want to be in the know and say ‘I am the one who found out this and shared this’, but at the same time look at the damage you are doing,” stressed Dr Miller.

The psychologist suggests that persons should realize that sharing these videos not only affects the person that they may be trying to shame but it also affects the victims’ families, schools and the country on a whole.

In relation to some of the activities captured by such recordings, Dr. Miller said that most times, this is a cry for help so the authorities should begin looking at programmes to restore and help instead of extreme measures like expulsion from school when children/teenagers are involved.

“They are seeking someone to love, someone they can trust, some of them are probably trying to find this happily ever after kind of thing so they put themselves in some very compromising situations to prove that they are whole heartedly into this person and the person turns around to be the complete opposite,” opined Dr. Miller.

She added also that a lot of these episodes are as a result of peer pressure but not peer pressure as some may know it, but a kind of more subtle and conniving type of peer pressure.

“I have heard a lot of youths try this sort of thing that hits you at your core, like the reverse psychology, saying things like ‘I guess you’re not as brave as I thought you were’ and because you are trying to prove a point you go out and do these silly things knowing that in the end it can have ramifications but you are just hoping for the best.”

Dr Miller said that girls also seem to suffer more because persons usually attack the female as oppose to the male. Not speaking about any particular incident, Dr. Miller noted said that the males usually get thumbs up while the girl is berated with comments like, “you should have known better.”

“…so she will start internalizing a lot of things about herself and based on how her parents respond she might feel ostracized, she might feel basically a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence can take a serious hit,” said Dr Miller, who added that a negative reaction can lead to a teen isolating themselves and that can trigger sadness and feelings of depression.

However, she said that while a lot of persons usually blame parents for some of the things their children do, parents are not always to be blamed, as a lot of the times, the children come from a good background with a very strong upbringing.

“The thing is, one of the mistakes that parents make is the over protection of their children. If you are overly protective and the kids are not getting a chance to explore certain things, when they get some element of freedom, just a little glimmer, they go crazy,” opined Dr. Miller who thinks that parenting styles now should be tweaked or revised with the understanding that some of the same things that worked a few years ago are not going to work in 2017 with the teenagers and young people of today.

“The schools and various social groups need to start doing programs to educate the kids on how to make better choices and they need to start learning responsibility for their actions and understanding that actions have consequences.

One of the things about teenagers is that they feel they are invincible and nothing can happen to them …until it comes to their front door and they have to figure out how to deal with it,” noted Dr. Miller.

She said that more programmes that speak about strengthening self-esteem, sense of self, self-confidence, values and morals and making sure that these young people have an appreciation for who they are and start setting positive and uplifting goals for their life are needed.