Picture palava…

The nude picture of a married woman that trended online not long ago left a lot of us taking stock about who we let into our space.

The rate at which women married and single- are easily lured into sending pictures to “online” admirers is most alarming.

When chats with acquaintances on the social media start with SEND ME A VERY SEXY PICTURE OF YOU… don’t ever delude yourself into thinking that he is asking for your normal pictures (even if he pretends to)…the talk will soon shift to BABY,I AM MISSING YOU, PLEASE SEND ME YOUR INTIMATE PICTURE-FOR ME TO ALWAYS FEEL YOUR PRESENCE.

I don’t know why any lady would stick this kind of convo with some stranger she barely knows. Is that all there is to talk about? Why is YOUR PICTURE his headache?

Calls are made…when someone misses you and wants to hear your voice. Unexpected text messages are even sexier.

Ladies, please begin to REGULATE the calibre of characters you allow into your space. I have lost count of how many times I was accused of being harsh and high-handed. It’s about my sanity and GROWTH as an individual. Time to remove the chaffs from the grains if a friendship lacks SUBSTANCE…count me out.

My way is thus…any man that asks for my pictures on the social media gets immediately deleted, because that is usually the genesis of LECHEROUS talks and all…so you don’t give that room. I give out my Whatsapp contact to those I consider responsible enough- to always reach me (beyond Facebook). Even though the nature of my job and activities on the social media demands that one is accessible…I still mind who I let into my space!

What will I be doing with someone whose idea of a reasonable conversation is asking me for PICTURES? As if I don’t have enough pictures on my social media profile!

Communicating with some people has become so damn predictable and boring… half of the men are seeking to engage in LECHEROUS talks. Someone like me is yet to even understand the significance of a sane individual belonging to every social media platform. That’s an expressway to un-productivity in a life! Something is wrong somewhere when one is this fixated on weird pictures of another.

In the words of friends …

“It’s out there. Being in denial doesn’t change the disturbing reality of the times.
It’s a sign of cultural change and generational shift in Nigeria. Otherwise, the practice is very old and very common in the western world.

Elsewhere, it’s a passion as well as addictive behavior. In Naija, it’s a sign of joblessness and unproductive culture.

If you are 34 years old and under, it’s nothing. It’s just a picture. You are already comfortable with your sexuality/body. After all, you are already walking down the street showing three-quarters of your boobs in a push-up bra, half of your ass is already sticking out of your undersized jeans; and half the pictures in your social media page is showing provocative pictures of you in bed with little left for the imagination.

So what’s the big deal resending those pictures to the new friend, who’s so lazy to find it on Facebook or Instagram? Who’s fooling who?

If you are not paying attention to your spouse or significant other, if you don’t compliment them or even notice when she spends 3 to 7 hours making her hair, chances are someone out there is paying attention and asking for more pictures…and if she gets carried away by all the new attention, she may actually show gratitude by showing a boob or two and will actually feel very good about it too…one man’s meat… ’’

“We often forget that nothing gets lost on the Internet and, once sent, it is almost impossible to recall. The picture can pass into the wrong hands and once it’s in the public domain, the damage is done. I don’t think anybody who has a future will toy with such an idea. I can’t even keep nude pictures on my phone-let alone sending it. What if the phone gets stolen? May God help us in this age.’’

“No matter where this culture or generational shift is a norm, human personality disorders remain a psychiatric or abnormal behavioral issue.

The scope of psychiatry is so wide that we take many of the problems of psychiatry that are manifested by some people in the population for granted due to ignorance. The ignorance of which behaviours fall into the diagnostic criteria for psychiatric attention remains a problem to mankind. Terrorism, same-sex marriage, nudity, kidnapping, abduction, murder, assassination, incest, rape, and the likes are all manifestations of some mental disorder. They cannot be explained off with the notion of changing the culture and generational shift.’’