Blog #7 Privacy

Most people around the world base their lives off of social media. It's a way for us to express who we are. Most of us have created an online life for ourselves. I know I use my Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat almost every day. There are so many perks in having all of our information on apps like this, but there is also a multitude of downfalls. We tend to be so consumed in our online lives we don't realize the harm social media can cause. 

Darieth Chisolm was a well-known news anchor and business coach. She had a very well-kept reputation. Her life came to a halt when she received a call from her ex-husband. He was sent a link to a website that had naked pictures of Darieth posted all over them. Darieths ex-boyfriend had created a website in her name with her naked private parts posted for anyone to see.  This is known as revenge porn. Darieth spent years and thousands of dollars just to get the website taken down. The hardest part was that her ex was living overseas in Jamaica. The humiliation and pain tore her apart. She never gave up though. Darieth grew strong and didn't stop fighting. 

This is now a new growing issue for many men and women all over the world. 1 in 25 women are affected by revenge porn. This has also affected many young women that I personally know. People take pictures off our social media accounts, use our names and create new fake accounts saying we will send them revealing photos of ourselves. I get a text at least once a month from a friend telling me to block an account doing this. The worst part about it is that's all we can do. There are a handful of people trying to stop this. Revenge porn is only a civil misdemeanor in 40 states. Taking something like this to court takes time, money, and resources that most people don't have. The government needs to create an easier way for men and women to help punish these offenders.  

We can help ourselves too. Once something is online there is going to be a footprint of it for a very long time. We need to watch what we post online or what other people post about us. We can also limit the amount of social media we use. I know it isn't the most ideal way, but this can help save us in the future. If this does happen to someone they need to end the silence. Hiding it doesn't help put an end to revenge porn. Darieth didn't let this situation define her. She turned it into action. She created a film called 50 Shades of Silence, which tells her story and provides help to men and women going through the same thing.