Most of you have a mobile phone and use it to keep in touch with family and friends, and especially your girlfriend or boyfriend. It is now so easy to send pictures instantly via emails and texts that there are more and more instances of young people sending sexual images of themselves to eachother without considering what could happen. This is known as sexting.

Once you've sent a sexy text or image, it's gone and you will have no control over who sees it after that. It could be forwarded time and time again making your supposedly personal pictures or video public, it could end up published on the internet and end up anywhere in the world and in the hands of peadophiles. Of course this would be highly embarrassing  for you and could damage your other relationships with your family and friends and even future employment.

Beatbullying and CEOP have worked together on a film for Safer Internet Day 2011 called 'Exposed' which looks at the dangers young people face when sexting.

The emotions involved in sexting are just as real as with any other kind of sex and if you're sexting with someone other than your regular partner you may feel guilty and if your regular partner finds out, they could feel hurt and betrayed and it could end your relationship. You may be in love now and believe that your partner would never hurt you, but what if you break up? The images could be used to blackmail you, or harass you. a good way to monitor what pics that you send to friends and partners is to think that you wouldnt mind if it did go public.

You should also be aware that if you're caught with nude pictures of anyone under 18, you could be prosecuted and end up on the sex offenders register. If you receive any sexts it is probably a good idea to delete them as quickly as you can, you may lose your phone or it could get stolen and the images could be posted on any social media site for a joke, or once again used to blackmail you.

To avoid trouble with the law which includes getting your partner in trouble it is good advice that you don't send nude pictures or video of yourself until you're over 18!

Its the start of a brand new year, and a time that we reflect on our lives and  may want to make changes. You may have realised that you are in an unhealthy relationship and want to end it.  

Breaking up is never easy and it can be especially difficult if you are in an abusive relationship. You may be feeling very confused about your girlfriend or boyfriend. Some of the reasons that you may find it difficult to end your relationship may be:

Fear: You might be scared that your boyfriend or girlfriend will hurt you if you try to break up with them, they may even threaten to hurt family members or hurt themselves.

Love: You may still have feelings for your boyfriend or girlfriend, you have shared good times together he or she is loving and caring towards you (sometimes)

Shame: It's not easy to admit that your relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend isnt as happy as you may have projected to your friends and family. It can be embarrassing to let the people closest to you know what you have been subjected to.

Worry: You may be worried how your friends may react, they may not believe you, they may blame you. You may worry that your parents will want to get involved and either call the police or "sort" your partner out themselves.

One of an abuser’s main tactics is CONTROL and because you have decided to take control and end your relationship, it not only breaks the control an abuser has over you but also may make him or her feel powerless and out of control this can make them act in a violent and desperate manner, therefore it is a good idea to have a safety plan to keep yourself safe. 

Inform parents and friends that you are ending the relationship.  In case something should happen, your parents and friends should know that you are planning to break up with your partner. It is  also likely that your ex will try to make contact with you, and family members and or friends can be the first line of defense in helping you to avoid your abuser.

 After the break up your partner may try and get in touch with you, you must try and remain strong as you may also be missing them too, and the routine and life that you used to have with them. You  will need to send an emphatic message that the relationship is over and that they no longer have control over you or your actions.

Discourage Communication:  Do not return phone calls, text messages, instant messages, or emails. Delete them as your friend on any social network that you belong to.  Do not let your ex into your home if they show up unexpectedly.   

Record all incidents of harassment:  Make a note of the time, the place, who was there and what happened. Don't throw away any letters or notes that they may send you and don't delete any text messages because if things do get worse and your partner doesn't leave you alone, you may be able to use them as evidence.

Avoid isolated areas: Ensure that you stay with friends at school and local hangouts and don’t walk home alone. It may be wise to change your usual route and routines for a couple of weeks.

The person that  you have been dating had probably become a huge part of your life. You might have seen more of them than your friends and family. Being scared about feeling lonely after the break up is normal.  Make sure that you talk to friends and try to find activities to fill the new time that you have.

It will take some time but eventually you will realise that its the best thing that you ever did and you will suddenly find that you are not living a life of fear.

There are short-term effects, and changes that take place over a longer time period.

In the short-term, when you drink alcohol you will feel more relaxed and less inhibited as you drink more, your judgement is affected  and you may say or do something stupid or out of character. You will start to feel wobbly and unco-ordinated and  you may have trouble seeing and hearing clearly. With even more alcohol, the body struggles to cope,  you may slur your speech, and feel confused.You will have trouble standing and walking, which can lead to accidents. As your judgement is affected  even more, you may say or do something that you later regret.

If you've really overdone it, you may vomit and even lose consciousness. If the body's  important organs are seriously affected, they may never recover. In the longer term, regularly drinking too much alcohol can lead to serious health problems, such as cirrhosis or cancer of the liver and other cancers. The symptoms may not appear until after the damage is done. Deaths from liver disease have risen sharply in the 25-34 age group over the last 10 years.

 

When a teenager falls in love it's far more intense than falling in love in adulthood. But these early relationships usually burn out quickly and may not last long in fact one survey showed that at age 15, dating relationships last an average of only three to four months. It's a bit like the audition programmes of the Xfactor, there are some good ones, some bad ones, some weird ones and some that you absolutely love.

But what makes you "fancy" someone? The first thing is the physical response which is 'lust' and the second is the  falling in love which is the "attraction" from there comes the commitment, which is needed to make relationships last and this is known as "attachment".

Teens seem to experience the attraction phase more strongly than adults but you don't always commit  fully to a relationship, so you tend not to enter into the attachment phase. This could be because you haven't found quite what you are looking for, so you break up and wait for the "lust" to hit you again, so in a way you are still auditioning, looking for that certain something, that Xfactor!  



As the old saying goes, you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince (or princess!)

However short a relationship may be, the experience of passionate love (especially your first love) can quickly become the most important thing in your life. When you are in love you want to spend all your time together, you may want to stop spending time with your family and friends because you can't bare to be parted, you will spend endless hours together talking, either on the phone or face to face. This is why it is so difficult to recognise the difference between a healthy and an unhealthy relationship. But if you ever feel that you are changing who you are to please someone else, or if you have that feeling that something isn't right in the relationship and that you are made to do things that you don't really want to do. This could be a warning sign that your relationship isn't quite what it seems!

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