Teenagers, in particular those who have been fans of celebrities that are involved in the celebrity nude photo scandal, are vulnerable to impacts brought by the incident. Support and counseling for them are pivotal at this stage, a social worker told China Daily.

"Fans tend to see their idols as pure and virtuous, but the sex pictures have completely destroyed their ideals," Daniel Shek, a professor in the department of social work at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said, adding that they may feel deceived by the artists.

"Youngsters should know now that they must admire their idols sensibly," he said.

Shek said the incident is part of growing up for teenagers and they should look at it with a positive perspective.

Ken Chan, service development chief officer (Children and Youth) of the Hong Kong Council of Social Services said parents need to be sensitive when discussing the artists' behavior with their children as that may provoke a defensive reaction.

Parents should analyze the incident from different perspectives with their children and teenage fans should accept that their ideals are not perfect.

Chan said Edison Chen's statement should be able to restore his public image.

"Chen's taking up responsibility for the incident conveys a positive message to teenagers," Chan added.

Meanwhile, Shek and Chan expressed their concern over negative impacts of the incident on teenagers.

"Young fans tend to imitate their idols, and the incident may distort their views on sex," Shek said.

"They may rationalize the behavior (taking nude photos) and this is an unhealthy impact to teenagers," Shek said.

"I am worried that this may become a culture and teenagers may start uploading nude pictures online," Chan added.

Shek and Chan called on schools and parents to discuss the incident with youngsters in a positive and open manner.

(HK Edition 02/22/2008 page1)