The exaltation of beauty as a primary value, exposed incessantly in the mass media, influences this decision. Those who want to be models know that castings are an option that can make it possible for them to arrive at a renowned agency or participate in a campaign or event.
Without going any further, in May María Emilia Mernes, a 16-year-old girl from Nogoyá, won a contest to be the visible face of the campaign of one of the brands preferred by teenagers. Gabriela, her mother, told UNO: "We saw the call in a well-known magazine and that's why it was presented, but I was always behind, I signed an authorization because she is a minor."
It was communicated who were the 200 finalists and through social networks the vote was made to choose which of the girls who applied would be the winner. "At first it didn't even cross our minds that he was going to win, but it was a moment of great emotion," he said.
As a prize, in addition to being the protagonist of the current campaign of that brand, it was a trip of almost 20 days to Miami, Disney and New York.
"For us it is a great joy and my daughter does not consider if she wants to be a model; rather I think he will continue to study a career. I always tell her that she has to be grateful to the people of Nogoyá, who helped her in this, and as parents we try to protect her. The priority is the study," Gabriela said.
However, not every story has a happy ending. There are numerous girls who oscillate the age of María Emilia and who yearn to live a similar experience and are easy prey to deception, especially if the call for a casting is made through social networks.
Although recommendations abound about the care that should be taken around the images that are published on the Internet or what information is given, adolescents behave in a naïve way, seduced by those who invite them to this type of event. This happened to Marina, a 14-year-old girl from Paraná who received a private message from the profile of "Diana Costa", asking her if she wanted to participate in a casting for the Dotto Model's agency and a clothing brand. Marina accepted, with her mother's permission, and sent her the required photographs "of face and full body, of jeans and mesh. And she received a gratifying message: she had been selected among the 25 finalists. Via chat they informed him that to continue with the contest he had to perform an "attitude" test, after which they asked him for topless photos.
Her mother made the complaint on Facebook and told UNO: "We always heard advice on how to handle this situation, but the woman had photos with Pancho Dotto and she seemed very credible, that's why we fell. Now we don't know what to do."
Today Marina expressed on her Facebook wall her helplessness: "This person asked me for nude photos. Obviously I didn't send them to him. Please if someone asks you for photos do not send them, because it may be child pornography. Today it happens to me, tomorrow it can happen to you." He also said: "I swear I looked at these things on TV and said it was never going to happen to me, I'm so afraid."
Possible actions
Lawyer Roberto Parajón pointed out that in these cases a judicial complaint can be made, since "there is a person who is in an attitude of abuse of children's rights; this is a serious fact and the integrity of this victim or any other must be protected."
Faced with fraudulent profiles, where there is no real person on whom to make the complaint, the action must be carried out the same. "Here is a server that can provide data or delete the account to prevent this type of situation from continuing. The dilemma caused by these events is whether the Internet can be regulated. The truth is that social networks are very useful for many things, but for others they contain these dangers. What must be done is to educate, not only to instruct in the use of technologies from a technical issue, but also from human values and the vulnerability that can be had in these spaces".
From the Ombudsman's Office, Edgardo Perlo said: "We have given talks and trained the Police on how to act in these situations. It is okay to make the complaint on Facebook, but if the mother wants she can initiate a judicial action in any police station, the Superior Court of Justice, or resort to the Federal Police. Facebook will surely take action, because in the United States this type of action is fought a lot, but sometimes the response takes time."
He also explained: "The phenomenon of social media is so new that there is no legislation available for these issues. There is a lot of information missing in these aspects and there will always be this type of traps on the Internet, because it will take time to raise awareness. Also people are very confident." Finally, he pointed out that "talks are being given in schools and we always invite parents to participate in these processes, because no matter how many controls are made of the places that children visit, surely, as in this case, there will be issues through which the elderly are also deceived."
Source: Uno Entre Ríos
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