More and more Vietnamese teenagers taking nude photos without knowing the dangers involved.

Young people unaware of risk involved in taking provocative pictures 

Previously, such provocative photos were popular among celebrities, particularly models. But in recent years, this trend has spread rapidly among regular young people.

Most of them are unaware of the risks, until the pictures come back to bite them.

Nude photos for body show-off

One female student, L, of a private university, became aware of the dangers the hard way. She took photos on her cell phone and saved them to share with friends and get comments.

Another student became quite well-known for her photos, and even hired a professional photographer. These photos pushed the line between tasteful, or "artistic", and pornography, and were like those spread widely on the internet.

The practice is not unique to girls. Several teenage boys have also followed the trend. One teenage boy, H, from Ho Chi Minh City boasted about his provocative photos, saying, "It cost tens of millions to create my collection. I had to hire a professional team."

When he was asked why he wanted this type of picture disbursed for everyone to see, he was a bit embarrassed at first, but eventually admitted, "It's a good way for me to keep up with my friends."

Unexpected consequences

Young Vietnamese people are often unaware of the lines between tasteful and what verges on pornographic, which can lead to trouble for them later.

There have been several cases where couples will take photos when they are "in love". However, when they break up, the same photos can be used against them as a form of blackmail.

L.T.T, 21, from Nghe An Province learned this lesson first-hand.

After a relationship with a 23 year-old, she broke up with him. However, her ex-boyfriend decided to use the pictures against her.

After he threatened to post the photos on the internet, she paid her ex-boyfriend an undisclosed amount of money. Luckily, the ex was caught red-handed by the girl's neighbours receiving his bribe, and was taken turned into the police.

This type of situation is not unique. A boy, T, from District No. 10, also found herself a victim. He said, “I took some nude photos to keep on my phone and to share with my close friends. But pretty soon I found out that they had been posted up on erotic websites. The news spread quickly throughout my school, and I became notorious. I wondered how that could have happened, and then I remembered that I had had my phone repaired at a shop some weeks back and had forgot to delete the pictures beforehand."

Nguyen Tien Thinh, an owner of a studio on Dao Duy Anh Street said that their studio has a number of clients who want erotic photos taken. He emphasised the need for caution, saying that clients should sign clear privacy agreements with studios before these kinds of shoots. But, he added, many studios neglect to do this, or ignore their agreements.