We're saddened by a story about a teen who hanged herself in her bedroom after an ex-boyfriend disseminated a nude cell-phone photo of her around their Ohio community. Jessica Logan, 18, was harassed daily by other girls calling her "slut" and "whore" and throwing objects at her.
Making It Through
She finished high school last year and went on national television with her face and voice distorted to warn other girls about the potential consequences of taking naked photos of themselves, a mistake Vanessa Hudgens later made.
But two months later, after attending a funeral for another teen who had committed suicide, Jessica went home and took her own life.
A Common Mistake
An oft-cited survey says that 39 percent of teens have sent similar photos of themselves ... and 15 percent of high-school boys say they disseminate the pics after a breakup.
The "Today" show had an "Internet security expert" on hand to warn of the dangers of "sexting" and urge parents to check their kids' cell phones. But isn't the real problem old-fashioned high-school cruelty?
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Hot Bod, Cold Heart
Alex Rodriguez This skanky Yankee came under fire for getting cozy with a stripper at a Las Vegas Scores (ew), and was rumored to be cavorting with Madonna before the ink was dry on either of their divorce papers. Jerkometer rating: 7
Getty Images
Mario Lopez Who knew that A.C. Slater was such a dirtbag? The buff "Dancing with the Stars" stud reportedly cheated on one lady friend with a Hooters girl, and his two-week 2004 marriage to Ali Landry ended when she learned of his bachelor party antics. Jerkometer rating: 8
Barry King, WireImage.com
Jude Law He may be gorgeous, and nobody can resist that accent. But you know what we can resist? Sleeping with our nanny. Jude? Not so much. He and then-fiancee Sienna Miller eventually broke up, obvs. Jerkometer rating: 7
Sony
Matt Damon In 1998, Matt Damon told Oprah Winfrey during an interview on her show that he was no longer dating Minnie Driver. According to Driver, that was the first she'd heard of their breakup. Jerkometer rating: 2 (He gets points off for good behavior since.)
Universal
Hugh Grant In 1995, Grant was infamously pulled over by L.A. police for lewd conduct with prostitute Divine Brown. Girlfriend Liz Hurley forgave him and even appeared on his arm at the premiere of "Nine Months" days after his arrest. Jerkometer rating: 9 (extra points for dragging Leno into it)
Dave Hogan, Getty Images
David Beckham What is it with married celebrities and the hired help? Although he has always denied it (and OK, so there's no proof), Becks was accused in 2004 of sleeping with then-personal assistant Rebecca Loos. Jerkometer rating: 3 (That shirtless picture inspires our goodwill, OK?)
Milk Processor's of America
Chace Crawford We know two things about the "Gossip Girl" boy: He's a total hottie, and he dumped Carrie Underwood via text. US Weekly reported in April, 2008 that the pair "mutually" parted ways via cellular phones. Jerkometer rating: 1 (hey, we've done it too)
Mark Von Holden, WireImage.com
Charlie Sheen Among other lowlights, Sheen "accidentally" shot ex-fiancee Kelly Preston, spent thousands on madam Heidi Fleiss and symbolically took a chainsaw to his wedding portrait with Denise Richards. Ew. Jerkometer rating: What comes after infinity?
E.J. Camp / CBS
Ethan Hawke We were sad enough when this brainy babe's artsy-smartsy marriage to Uma Thurman ended. But to then shack up and have a baby with the nanny to his kids? For shame! Jerkometer rating: 4
Mirimax / Everett Collection
Ryan Philippe Although never officially confirmed, rumors still swirl that Ryan Philippe's divorce from his all-American wife Reese Witherspoon had a little something to do with an on-set affair with actress Abbie Cornish, now his girlfriend. Hmm. Jerkometer rating: 6
Frank Masi, Paramount
"Sexting" and online bullying may be relatively new, but girls tormenting other girls over their alleged promiscuity has been around forever.
We're glad to hear from the security expert that schools are finally being held liable for bullying (including some cyber-bullying), but we're not sure if that will be enough to keep kids from tormenting each other.
"Mean Girls" has a touching ending, but what can school officials and parents do to help real-life teens make peace? Should we blame technology ... or ourselves?
Tell us! What should parents or administrators do to teach kids about the dangers of sexting? Is it just another rite of passage?
The Most Annoying Co-Workers
Insistent Instant Messenger: No matter how much time or miscommunication could be spared by talking face-to-face, this person insists on talking virtually, via IM or email. If they're a superior and you're not online, they send you an email to ask where you are (meanwhile you're at your desk, ten feet away).
Cycle Sister: This is a person you're not particularly fond of, but for whatever cosmically twisted reason, your daily routine is synched up -- you walk into work at the same time, and from there, you see your Cycle Sister in the bathroom, on your smoke break, at the vending machine, and on the way out. Even if you do like this person alright, the sheer coincidence makes things creepy and awkward.
Mr. Flibble, Flickr
The Get-a-Lifer: This person asks you out to post-work drinks on a regular basis, despite the fact that you always decline. And the one time you went to a party at their house, it ended up being the two of you playing Taboo. The Get-a-Lifer is often the same person who plans meetings at 6 p.m. on Fridays, not realizing that everyone else goes out with their friends on the weekend.
bealluc, Flickr
Listserv Leech: If someone has taken this person's lunch out of the fridge, the entire staff will be notified via the staff listserv, which everyone else uses exclusively for professional communication. Alternately, this person may use the listserv to let everyone know about the lack of toilet paper in the bathroom, a party they're throwing, or to ask who took that package off their desk.
Angry Typist: The Angry Typist pounds on her keyboard with the vigor of someone hitting their ex-boyfriend. The violent clacking leads to many misunderstandings, as this person is often unaware of their problem and is not actually pissed.
.faramarz, Flickr
The Toilet Mouth: You're on the pot midstream (or worse) when the Toilet Mouth strikes up a conversation. This person also likes to chatter at the sink for before and after they go, giving no one in the bathroom privacy to do their business.
Megan *, Flickr
Monday Manic: The coffee hasn't hit your bloodstream yet, and the Monday Manic is flittering about, imbued with an unnatural amount of energy and optimism. They're telling stories about how freaking great their weekend was and so stoked about the work they get to do that day.
Old News Hound: OMG, did you hear that Lindsay Lohan is dating a girl!? The Old News Hound is always the last to know about everything, but the first to belt out at a stale headline at full-volume to their surrounding coworkers.
Rash Revealer:This person has no shame getting on the phone with their doctor, their spouse, their aunt, or their mom to discuss a rash, a yeast infection, and any other personal bodily defect or medical issue.
maydaFUNKbewithu!, Flickr
The Chit-Chat Blaster: If this person catches you in the break room or on your way out of the bathroom, you're done for a half an hour later they're still yammering away about the paint samples they're considering for the livingroom, the deli they ate at for lunch, the meeting the boss called earlier, the diet they're on. The Chit-Chat Blaster also doesn't notice you inching away, and generally lack the ability to pick up social cues.













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Tuesday 10 March
By carey
This reply is for everybody. You would think that with all of the desensitivity of sex and nudity that the majority of our teens are subject to, that a young girl who has sent a nude picture to her boyfriend would be no big deal. There's no way you can convince me that the girls who were tormenting this young girl, had not done the same thing or worse themselves. The problem today is that our young people are being brought up with no boundaries and no self-respect, not to mention no respect for others. Pop- culture for these teens is full of deception, manipulation and sexual permissiveness. If things are going to change, parenting needs to change. Parents need to open their eyes to the oversexing of their children by the media.. music, t.v. and even commercials.. Its really rediculous. These kids need to know that sex is not casual and there are serious consequences for thes decisions. Im not just talking about std's, here, people. Im talking about the feelings of insignificance, the loss of identity and the addiction to this type of behavior. Especially for girls it causes regret, self-loathe, bitterness, shame and it puts our girls in extremely perilous situations. This young girl couldnt forgive herself of the shame. She was too hard on herself. she needed spiritual guidance.She needed to be shown love and forgiveness. She needed to be shown worthiness. We are worthy of forgiveness. It is my firm stand and right to say that young people (all people) need to know Jesus now more than ever.People need to understand and experience peace that surpasses all understanding and to know their sin is no big deal to God, if you repent and fully except Jesus into you heart. SIN IS SIN, PEOPLE, in God's eyes a white lie is the same as murder. The family of this young lady needs prayer and as does her soul. People need to be more forgiving and more compassionate. The blame game doesnt solve anything, the issue here is that a young girl is dead. Worse than that is that she took her own life, one that God had given her, one that she could have used to turn this shameful situation into one that would glorify God. All of our experiences in life should be used for the glory of God. There is nothing impossible with God and all of our trajedys can be turned to good. People it is time to open our eyes, Satan is destroying the lives of our young people, but he has no power even at the mention of the name of Jesus.
I want to add I lived a very sinful life, I always believed in God, but had no place for him in my life. He had a place in His life for me and I have finally began to experience a life of fulfillment and peace. It is a long journey and you dont have to be perfect to come to Him, because we are all imperfect, He wants us with all of our imperfections and sin. His perfect lamb made it possible for us to be forgiven. So the question is can you fully believe in the unseen, do you have faith? Can you let go and let God. It is so easy, all you have to do is ask and you will receive.
Tuesday 10 March
By Sue
Parents and teachers should all try harder to teach how wrong it is to be a bully and how wrong it is that they seem to feel good when they hurt others. It seems like nothing is being done to try to help that problem. I keep hearing that the teachers just look the other way when they see it happening. What did that guy have to gain by passing this girls photo around? It doesn't make him look like a man. It makes him look like he needs some mental help. I wonder if he will ever mature enough that he will eventually feel the burden of this girls life on his shoulders...... for the REST of HIS life! I hope he does. I can't see how he can feel good or proud about himself now, having hurt someone so badly that she had rather be dead than to keep facing so many cruel and hateful people. Why in the world do people want to be SO mean!
Friday 15 May
By Leno
Sexting is the problem, not texting. If she had not sent nude pics of herself by sexting over the phone, none of it would have happened to those extreme degrees and she would still have had her respect regardless of what people say. She did that to herself because she did not realize the dangers of sending nude pics of yourself today with all the creepy people out there and that is where these girls need to be educated.
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Tuesday 10 March
By Welcome Me
blame the girl only!!!! what about the ex-boyfriend? his role in this little scenario was more problematic than with her photo.
yes, she should not have taken the photo but even worse - exboyfriend should have destroyed the picture and moved on. what he did is a thousand times worse than what she did.
why is it that when problems arise society blames the girl and lets the boy walk off scot free? i am so tired of that double standard. it is time it stops and if we must put a blame on this sexting issue...blame both parties.
Tuesday 10 March
By Erin
Point blank:If she's dating the guy, I don't see the harm in sending him a naked picture. She was 18 wasn't she? She can make her own decisions, so how can it even be her parents fault?
How can any of you say your spouse doesn't have nude pictures of you? You'd be lying if you say they don't.
HE had no right to send out something private like that. At least she was mature enough not to send naked pictures of hiim out in retaliation.
Tuesday 10 March
By Hilary
it's her ex-boyfriend who sent the photo to everyone., I mean seriously get over yourselves.......i mean like, yeah she should've sent that b/s to him., but he should also SHOULD NOT HAVE sent the damn pic of her just becuz she broke his little heart., and she proberly was only depressed becuz the other girls at school were picking on her.,
Tuesday 10 March
By Liz
I don't think that sexting itself is the problem. If you want to send nude pictures of yourself via a cell phone then you should be free to do that. The article says she was 18, so she was old enough to make her own decisions. The real problem is that when the picture was sent out to everyone else that they felt the need to harass her for it. This is not a new phenomenon, rather it has simply gotten worse since the invention of the internet. In the 1990's the consequences of bullying exploded in the US when the victims decided that they needed to shoot their bullies. Now the poor girls feel like there is nothing left for them, so they commit suicide. Teens can be so cruel. I hate riding the bus because all of the teens whose mommies and daddies haven't bought them cars yet are on there making fun of each other. I went to high school right after 9/11 when Muslims began to be harassed simply for being the same religion as the terrorists. One girl in my art class was constantly being tormented by the little asswipes in the class. The teacher wouldn't do anything to stop it. Even though a group of the other classmates--myself included--came to her aid, the teacher should have stepped up to stop the torment. What needs to happen is that kids need to be taught early on that what they say can hurt others. There have been many such programs developed just for this very reason, and if they were implemented in schools, particularly elementary schools when bullying first begins, the should be--at least according to the results of the psychological studies that created the programs--a decline in bullying behaviors AND their effects, whether they are school shootings or teen suicides.
Tuesday 10 March
By toxixtears
This is terribly my heart goes out to the family for their loss.
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Tuesday 10 March
By Stormy
I dont usually comment on these things but after reading quite a few of the other posts I felt like I had to. I agree with most of you that the problems lies with society and the fact that parents are no longer parenting. Parents dont teach their kids about self esteem, discipline, and how to conduct ones self in school or society. A major part of the problem today is lack of discipline. Parents do not believe in spanking their children, time out teaches no major consequence to an action, and restrictions is baloney too, unless you intend to restrict them from doing something they really enjoy for an extended peroid of time, usually more than a few weeks.
The problem here lies with the parents. Yes, kids will be mean and cruel, but parents need to be teaching their children how to deal with these kinds of things. Parents need to get more involved in there childrens lives and know what goes on when they are not there. It all about building respect and trust with your child. If your child respects and trusts you they will want you to know whats going on, they will also feel more comfortable coming to you with a problem they are having.
The problem with bullying is that those children did not get there butts spanked enough and have not learned respect for themselves or others because of lack of discipline. Nobody likes a spoiled brat, and thats what bullies are.
Therefore if anyone is to blame it should be the parents, not only of the girl that committed suicide, but the parents of the children that bullied her in the first place.
Tuesday 10 March
By realmen
A German man fined $2,300 for racist text. I'm a guy and my ? is....what happens to the bf ? My oppinion, he should be charged. Send a message, don't try and ruin someone elses life because ur a jack a**. But then again, maybe he's an angel and just made a mistake...no wait..BS, he's a pathetic a**. Hope alot of bad things happen to him.
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Tuesday 10 March
By kariebabi
Our Puritan ancestors started this Penguin Island....it's their fault!
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Friday 13 March
By Pete
Parents need to take more responsibility for their children and treat them as such, not try to be their friends. I do not beleive that children need cell phones. The technology to take compromising photos and videos exceeds their maturity level.
Also parents want to respect their children's privacy. That is why such images are on cell phones and why some teens have accumulated weapons stashes. Parents need to monitor their children and punish them appropriately.
Just my opinion but that explains why people's behavior is getting more extreme ... they are not taught better as children and allowed to continue to do bad things.
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Tuesday 10 March
By Mikey the Nail
Texting nude photos carries the same risk for young people as it does for adults, and that risk is that the photos will eventually be viewed by people you don't want to see them. The risk is self-evident to any thinking person. Yet why do teens do this? They do it for the same reasons adults do it: Because they can, and they want to. After considering the risk they do it anyway. And if those pics get leaked, oh well -- then people see your body. Eventually almost everyone will get over it -- and themselves.
At the end of the day Jessica Logan committed suicide not because she took naked photos of herself, not because she sent them to her former boyfriend, not because that cad distributed them, and not because mean girls teased her about it. She committed suicide because she was either severely depressed or mentally ill, and that, my friends, is the heart of the problem with teens today: Depression and mental illness. Further, Mikey sayeth naught.
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Tuesday 10 March
By Tammy Ciesielski
Mikey, are YOU insane???? There is not a woman around who can't say they have a had day or night when it seems like the world is going to end because something happened and then the next day everything is a little better. It was just the end of this girls rope, she felt as if she couldn't handle it. That does NOt mean she was mentally ill and shame on all of you for saying so. That just means she is human and felt like she couldn't take the pain any more. Until you have been in that position do not judge others. Shame on you. I wish for her family and friends for the strength to cope with all this and God bless them.
Tuesday 10 March
By ann
Wow, so many uninformed people here. Why isn't the boy friend be held accountable? Yes the young lady did not make a good choice sending that picture but, I'm sure she wasn't thinking if we end our relationship my boyfriend will be an ass and send it out to the world.
Teens today are nasty cold apathetic individuals and that comes from no values being taught at home. Maybe that young girl suffered from depression or maybe not. But not only was her nude photo being sent out to her classmates a cause for depression her, the animals she went to school with pushed her to the edge and anyone her age in that situation would have taken drastic measures.
Teens don't always tell their parents what hurts them because they are afraid or they think they can handle things. This poor child was humiliated beyond what you could possibly imagine and for anyone to blame a victim of sexual abuse, and folks that is what this is, well you are as big an ass as the boy who started this nightmare for her and her family. I hope she has peace.
Tuesday 10 March
By mysteryfan1968
Mikey the Nail is an obvious jackass. Poor Jessica was humiliated by her jerk of an ex-boyfriend, and bullied by a bunch of heartless teenage girls. When you're a teenager, you are very sensitive to the way that your peers see you. And to be humiliated in front of everyone can be torture. None of that says you're mentally ill. It says you're human, and you feel pain. Shame on you, Mikey. Typical male making it all the fault of the girl.
Tuesday 10 March
By Michele
I agree completely that this ex-boyfriend should be charged with something! In the past month, two teenage boys committed suicide in the town I live in - both of them were friends with each of my sons. This is a horrible time and something needs to be done about all of this bullying! It's ridiculous...instead of sitting here blaming the girl who took her life, maybe people could step up to the plate and find a way to help society! Think that could make a difference!!!
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Tuesday 10 March
By Mikey the Nail
You people just don't get it: The guy is a jerk, but he didn't break any laws! Once she sent him that photo it became his property. He can do whatever he wants with it. Hold him accountable for what? Being a jerk? That's not the way it works in the United States. You have to get it through your heads that this girl made a choice to send the photo KNOWING FULL WELL what MIGHT happen. And guess what? It did happen. She killed herself because she was either morbidly depressed or mentally ill AND IT WAS NOT THE GUY'S FAULT! Sure he deserves a good pommeling, but he didn't kill her.
Tuesday 10 March
By ann
It's sad but parents don't teach their children about honor and respect, if they did we wouldn't have all these horror stories of children taking their lives. I would also like the schools being held more responsible for this harassment, our kids are in their care all day long and if the school knew, well they should be held responsible. All those young women and men should be punished by law some how? Is there a prosecutor out there with the stones to do the right thing for these kids being tortured on a daily basis? Probably not because when it comes to sexual assault, the police don't like to handle these things unless they have a slam dunk case. And that is a crime!!
Tuesday 10 March
By al
Personally I think her ex boyfriend should get his ass kicked real good.
He is the asshole responsible for this tragedy.If he was a real man,
he would have kept those pics private.
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