Anthony Weiner is the latest public figure to post pictures of himself on the internet for the entire world to see. INSIDE EDITION looks at the cultural phenomenon that can have devastating effects on a person's career.
The raunchy self-portraits that brought down the once powerful Congressman, Anthony Weiner, seem to be part of a growing cultural phenomenon. Although Weiner clearly crossed the line, a lot of people, including many Hollywood stars, are taking racy photos of themselves and putting them on the internet for all of the world to see.
Demi Moore used her iPhone to snap her bikini body in the mirror. Then, she tweeted a series of revealing shots.
A lingerie-clad Kim Kardashian also used a cell phone and mirror to capture a sexy pose. Lindsay Lohan and Rihanna followed suit, and photographed themselves topless.
"Celebrities have really responded to this because they're used to being captured by the paparazzi. Suddenly, there's a way for them to put out things–pictures, thoughts–that they can control. You get to make sure you look the way you want to look, but also it shows how real you are. You're just like the rest of us," pop culture expert Anna David said.
But it's not just celebrities. Regular folks across the country seem to feel the need to post their own provocative pictures.
"This is the era we're leaving in, where we are oversharing," David said.
If such pictures are so prevalent in our culture, what makes Weiner's so salacious?
"Adults are doing this far more often than people think. Sexting is no longer just for kids," Parry Aftab of WiredSafety.org said, "What we need to do is make the difference between real celebrities, who are superstars, who can get away with doing things that are not role-model issues and those people who are running our government…need the credibility and stability that Congress should bring us."
Unfortunately for the once rising political star, it seems that he has taken the trend just too far.
