'Naked stars to blame' for sexting teens

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Sydney: Experts have warned that starlets who promote their naked photos and videos are encouraging teens in Australia to take up sexting.

Child education expert and former police officer Susan McLean, said parents and teachers are at a loss to explain the prevalence of sexting in schools.

But she believes the bombardment of naked photos and videos associated with starlets like Kim Kardashian, Lara Bingle and Vanessa Hudgens may be partly to blame.

“You can Google almost any celebrity these days and find a link to sex tape, and there is pressure on girls to confirm,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted her as saying.

“They are certainly not mimicking the behaviour of teachers and parents,” she said.

She also said songs like Ke$ha’s Dirty Picture, in which the pop star implores her lover to 'take a dirty picture for me' may also contribute to the normalisation of nude photography among impressionable teens.

“The number one reason girls give for sending these pictures was to be fun or flirtatious. I don’t think people have appreciated how these celebrity images have built up over time,” McLean stated.

A YouTube campaign urging teens to 'Think before sexting' was launched last month in Canberra showing the story of Megan, who sent images to her boyfriend, which were then handed around her classroom.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor said it was one video he hoped teens would not keep to themselves.

“We want to make sure that it’s distributed as far and wide as possible, schools and others will be encouraged to use this video,” he added.