*Caution: Explicit material
Angie Varona was only 14 when her private photo account was hacked and exploited by porn sites. She never appeared nude, but she did pose in bikinis and lingerie and the hacker photoshopped some pictures to look like Angie was actually naked.
She was horrified to discover her image on multiple porn sites and ads. Rumors quickly spread and her life took a terrible turn for the worse.
“I had been notified by a close friend who had seen me in a porn site ad,” Varona said. “I spent the whole summer trying to take down all the pictures, but it was virtually impossible to track down who hacked me. I felt like crap knowing my life was going down the drain.”
From there, people at school began to talk and stalkers began following her.
Angie was bullied at school due to her leaked photos, calling her a “pornstar.” She was forced to change schools twice before getting homeschooled. Angie later fought with depression, turning to drugs and even thought of committing murder.
According to the article accompanying the above Vimeo video, a survey conducted by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reveals that nearly one in five young people who send sexually suggestive messages and images, do so to people they only know online (18% total, 15% teens, 19% young adults).
More major findings:
- At least 1 in 4 teens are receiving sexually explicit texts and emails
- At least 1 in 7 are sending sexts
- More than 1 in 10 teens are forwarding sexts without consent
- About 1 in 12 teens have had sexts they’ve sent forwarded without their consent
Even platforms like Snapchat where girls think their risqué photos are deleted are not as safe as they appear. Those photos can actually be saved in hidden folders on phones and retrieved later.
Veronica is still coping with the aftermath of a bad decision that turned her private mistakes into public property, but it’s a clear warning for students and parents both.
“I want to bring awareness to everything that’s happened so girls in the future know not to do it,” says Varona, who has now been to numerous psychologists to cope with her suicidal thoughts, resulting from the incident.
Remember, one photo could change your life. Never take a photo — even if it’s private — that you wouldn’t want to share with the world.
Be sure to share Verona’s important message with your children, as well as friends and family on Facebook.
