The Bristol Police Department is investigating claims that middle school students may have taken inappropriate pictures of themselves and shared them among their friends.
Police notified the Bristol Warren Regional School District on Thursday, Nov. 14, about a “disturbing trend in student use of two social media networks.”
The two sites in question are Kik.com and Heyheyapp.com. Kik.com is a free messaging system that allows users to text each other unfiltered.
Heyheyapp.com is a camera app that allows users to take photos and add objects to the images. The photos can then be shared with whomever the user choses. Both are programs for cell phones.
The alert was posted on the school district website to warn parents about the alleged activity and to urge them to more closely monitor students’ use of mobile devices.
“Once these images are out there on the World Wide Web, they’re accessible,” said Dep. Chief Steven Contente. “These children may be approached by anyone. Often times, a child won’t tell parents what the extent of their involvement is online.”
Through Heyheyapp.com, Dep. Chief Contente said that images shared are not downloaded. Instead, they are flashed on a recipient’s screen and then goes away.
“It’s just like flashing someone,” he said. “Where sexting is taking place, it can lead to very serious problems for the student.”