such is the modern world.. dick pics can strike at any time.. spring out of nowhere so to speak.. and usually with very little warning. if some guy were to walk up to us in the street and suddenly drop his pants or open his ‘flasher mac’.. we’d be left feeling violated, creeped out, annoyed, upset and probably outraged.. and this scenario is exactly what receiving an unsolicited dick pic is.. only in digital form.
now i’m not talking about sexting here. what you do in your private life is up to you. and mutual naughtiness is very much up to those involved. but if its one sided.. the situation is vastly different. i’m talking about a digital prick in response to a simple ‘hello’.. or heavens forbid, before there’s even been any words spoken between you and said dick owner.
{i once joked i could make a book of all the unsolicited dick pics i’ve received in my life. nothing trashy. a coffee table arty type hardback (obviously). and this is still a little pipe dream of mine. i swear, i’m only half kidding.}
but besides the dreaded dick pic delivery – there is also the fact that with social media – ‘sliding into someone’s DMs’ is almost too easy now. this kind of thing isn’t just kept to snapchat anymore. the friend requests. the message requests. from total strangers who seem to really like the look of insta-you. cue ‘hello beautiful’ all the way to ‘send nudes‘.
which is bad in itself. but as we use social media platforms more and more as a networking tool – this gives people more access to us. to our lives and our inboxes. professionalism can take a backseat as the informality of a screen prevails.
instagram in particular can be a brilliant place to share, create and showcase especially for budding models, bloggers and influencers – but the same can also be said for predatory individuals who often go under the guise of fellow creatives.
this unfortunately seems to be becoming extremely common in the industry. as i type this – several creatives particularly photographers have been ‘outed’ for behaviour that is – at best – unprofessional and at worst – down right disgusting. these are messages of an extremely sexual nature between either complete strangers or people supposedly in a working relationship. totally uncalled for. exploitative. taking advantage.
this unwelcome conduct begs the question – is this something people would dream of doing irl? we live in a digital world where we’re more connected than ever. but has that instant connection severed people’s sense of decency? and what is it about DMs that seem to make it so much easier to leave all manners and respect behind?
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