It was reported in our local paper recently that a 19 year old male is facing child sex charges over  offences that occurred several years ago. He met a 14 year old girl online, persuaded her to send him sexually explicit photos of herself, then used them to blackmail her. He told her that he would release the photos unless she met him. She finally agreed to meet him and he sexually abused her. Your teachers and parents aren't paranoid freaks (at least not all the time). This does happen sometimes. There are several lessons we can learn from this unfortunate situation:

1. It's safest not to send explicit photos of yourself to anyone, especially people you have never met;
2. You do not know who you're talking to online - it could be a 50 year old creep;
3. It's not safe to meet up with someone you've met online, especially if you go alone.

Many people are addicted to their smartphones. If you want to keep track of how many times you check your phone each day consider downloading the Checky app which will let you know.  Perhaps you can reward yourself if you reduce the number of times you check it each day.

According to a poll in the UK, Instagram rated the worst for negative impact on young people aged 14-24.  These impacts included social media's effect on sleep, anxiety, depression, loneliness, self-identity, bullying, body image and the fear of missing out.  I'm not saying don't use Instagram. I'm saying remember that many of these images are retouched, or the subjects have undergone the preparation of a professional photo shoot before being photographed.  Remember, it's being beautiful on the inside that counts and jealousy and envy are not attractive on anyone.

BUF Girls is an Australian Fitness and Nutrition company.  BUF stands for Beautiful, Unstoppable and Fearless. The founder, Libby Babet, is the new trainer on The Biggest Loser: Transformed. They run online programs as well programs at locations around the country.  Their Girl Talk page has lots of articles about health, fitness and nutrition. You can find it here. If you sign up to their website now you can download their 10 Totally Buf Workouts ebook for free.

This ad from the USA has been around for a while but it's powerful.

Never, never, never take pictures of yourself naked and share them, even if everyone else is doing it.  Having an explicit picture on your phone of someone under the age of 18 is considered child pornography and can result in a jail term or being placed on the sex offender register. One 14 year old boy downloaded a video of a girl his age having sex and shared it with students at his school.  He was charged with child pornography offences.  For more information checkout the Lawstuff Australia website.

Ed Sheeran was recently quoted as saying social media is a toxic wasteland of people’s opinions.* He did a social media detox last year but says he may never go back on.  He has a point, there certainly seems to be more negative content out there than positive. Here are five guidelines that might be helpful. * Daily Telegraph, 6th February 2017.

Rosie is a website full of information relevant to teenage girls.  There is information about body and mind, work and study, relationships and world issues.  

It can be really confusing trying to find a mobile plan that right for you.  Check out the www.moneysmart.gov.au website for more information.  The www.finder.com.au website allows you to enter the amount of texts, calls and data you need and compares mobile phone plans from 36 providers.