A 23-year-old Chinese student at the University of Cambridge who sued her ex-boyfriend for posting nude photos of her on social networking websites had her case overturned by a Beijing court on Monday.

Along with the rest of the world, China is figuring out the repercussions and potential dangers in the free-for-all digital age. Such cases serve as reminders for young women who are contemplating, sans clothes, about clicking the "send" button on social media websites or using WeChat to take scandalous self portraits.

Hunter Moore, the American founder of Is Anyone Up?, a crude website that featured pictures of nudes submitted by scorned lovers (or anyone with a malicious agenda), proved that in our smartphone era, humanity has many repulsive sides. The website was shut down in April, much to the relief of those snapped nude.

As the perpetrators of these cases often tend to be vindictive males, it's easy to point the finger of blame at morally reprehensible men.

However, in these cringe-worthy situations we can't strip either side of their responsibility, even if they are stripped of their clothes. Both the exposed and offender have a role to play in this messy new media game of love gone awry. 

The lesson here is universal and simple. Adopt Nike's antithesis and "just don't do it." It's never a good idea, as celebrities learn openly in the tabloids. As precocious as they are, China's youth still need to truly internalize that once a photo is out there, it's out there.

The one silver lining in this issue is the Web user backlash that sometimes ensues from subjection. Last week, a Shanghai Metro microblog post on Sina Weibo featured a picture of a woman queuing on a subway platform donning a see-through dress.

The post urges women to cherish themselves unless they want to face sexual harassment. As this post created opposition for its misogynistic "women who dress like this deserve it" approach, something rare happened: people protested.

Two women boldly walked through Shanghai's metro on Sunday carrying signs that read: "I can be coquettish, but you can't harass me." 

Women in China and the world over are routinely sexually objectified, as the Shanghai Metro post showed.

When a picture of a woman is uploaded online without her consent, her sexuality is used as a weapon to degrade her. But by dressing provocatively, she is actually in control of her sexuality by choosing how much she exposes.

While those on the more conservative side may object to outfit choices mimicking those of Lady Gaga, ultimately it is the woman's right to choose.

Besides, in cities like Beijing, where men hardly ever keep their beer bellies covered, who is to judge what is or isn't tasteful?

In a hyperlinked age where laws have not been implemented quickly enough for cases of violated privacy, women ought to weigh up the consequences before sending potentially scandalous material into cyberspace.

As singer John Mayer has crooned before to many ex-lovers, "Your body is a wonderland." Treat it as such.