Evil! Posted a Selfie and Got Caught... 'SNS Avoidance Syndrome' Spreading

Targeted After the Nth Room Case
Past Posts Searched and Deleted
Disguised as Prostitution Promotion Photos
Cases of Female Teacher's Graduation Album Victimized Too

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song, Jeongyun Lee] #A shared shocking news with an acquaintance that her photo posted on social networking services (SNS) was being used to promote illegal prostitution establishments. The photo was taken of her reflection in a mirror and posted on SNS, but it had been transformed into a profile picture for a woman working at such an establishment. This was a case where the company selected and misused an appropriate photo from SNS. A stopped all SNS activities and set her existing photos to private.

If the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) created the new concept of 'social distancing,' the Telegram Nth Room incident has led to an online phenomenon of 'digital distancing.' There is a widespread fear that traces of one's casual updates shared on SNS could unexpectedly return as a 'boomerang of crime' at any time.

It is not difficult to find cases where photos carelessly posted have been misused for crimes. A representative example is the so-called 'acquaintance synthesis' (photos created by superimposing a specific person's face onto pornographic images) victims on SNS platforms like Telegram and Twitter.

As was the case with Jo Joo-bin (24) and his gang who operated the 'Doctor's Room,' such photos are also used for blackmail. Online, there are many inquiries related to this. Most ask how to respond after suffering crime damage from photos secretly taken by someone.

After examining multiple Telegram group chats, the reporter easily confirmed scenes where photos of unspecified women secretly taken from SNS were shared. In some groups, secretly taken photos were also shared. One user who shared such photos said, "I waited three hours to take this photo." When these photos were shared in the chat rooms, participants immediately started a critique session. Photos created by acquaintance synthesis were also abundant. In this chat room, comments like "The body is top-notch, but the face is not good," and "Are there any more provocative photos?" were nonstop.

Targeting specific professions is also common. Illegal filming of female teachers or bringing photos from graduation albums into Telegram chat rooms to share and critique them is typical. According to an online survey released on the 28th by the Seoul Teachers' Union Federation, 7 out of 10 teachers expressed anxiety about having their photos in graduation albums due to concerns that they could be misused for crimes or critiques.

Experts point out that while strong punishment for sex crimes is important, it is difficult to solve the problem unless the social culture that sexualizes women changes. Professor Kim Ji-young Yoon of Konkuk University’s Body Culture Research Institute said, "Abnormal behavior toward women is deeply rooted in male superiority consciousness," adding, "Now, a shift in awareness is urgently needed so that such behavior is absolutely not tolerated socially or legally."

Ultimately, the prevailing thought among SNS users is that being cautious individually is the best strategy for now. B, who recently deleted all selfie photos from SNS, said, "I searched through many photos and videos I had posted on SNS to find and delete anything that could be a clue to identifying me, but the anxiety still remains."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.