What is a "dikpik", and why does this phenomenon so irritate American women

Subway passengers in New York and other major American cities are increasingly becoming victims of a particular type of hooliganism, which has been called "dikpik". IT specialists attribute this phenomenon to cyberflashing, and the women themselves believe that they have been subjected to high-tech sexual harassment.

The essence of the "dikpik" is that men anonymously send photos of their penises to women in the subway using a smartphone and AirDrop technology. Complaints about such messages are registered by the police of American megacities on a daily basis, but the cops are not ready to give a legal assessment of such actions yet.

The mailing of "dikpiks" does not fit the definition of exhibitionism, although, without any doubt, there are similarities between these actions. Since there is case law in the United States, legislators were forced to urgently get to work and prepare a draft law providing for responsibility for sending indecent pictures.

A resident of New York Britta Carlson (Britta Carlson) shows a "dickpick" obtained by AirDrop. Photo NY Post

On November 28, a bill drafted by a Republican deputy and a representative of Democrats was presented at a meeting of the New York City Council. If the law is approved, and it most likely will be, then offenders may face a fine of $ 1,000 or one year in prison.

This is how one of the authors of the bill, Republican Joseph Borelli, commented on a new type of crimes with sexual overtones.

Why the mailing list of "dikpiks" has become so popular, no one can say yet. However, experts in the field of psychology have several quite realistic versions. For example, Doctor of Psychology Justin J. Lehmiller Harvard believes that this is a special form of exhibitionism. In addition, the reason may also be the distorted opinion of some men about the interest of women in sex.

Andrea Waling, a specialist at the Australian Center for Sex Research, says that sending pictures with penises is a kind of objectification. The expert cannot precisely name the goal, but suggests that it may be both an attempt to make an acquaintance, and a reaction to the political beliefs of the addressee.

Addiction to porn can encourage men to send such a newsletter. In adult films, male genitals are usually at the center of events, and the messenger of "dikpikov" is sure that a photo of a penis is exactly what every woman wants to see, no matter who sends this picture.

To send the hooligans use AirDrop technology, introduced in 2011 by Apple. The function allows you to send files to iPhone and iPad owners via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless technologies, if the AirDrop option is enabled. By the way, users of Android gadgets are also at risk, since their smartphones have a similar function. Data transmission can be carried out via AirDrop at a distance of up to 10 meters, and the sender can remain anonymous.

There are no statistics on "electronic harassment" in Russia, but complaints about "dicpickers" sometimes appear in social networks. In order not to become a victim of indecent mailing, you need to find the AirDrop function in the iPhone menu and change the privacy settings by choosing to receive data only from subscribers from the phone book. Also, in the "Basic" settings menu, you can completely block the transfer of files.