Police and community leaders in Sayville gave parents important information about social media and its potential consequences.

Dozens of parents were in attendance Wednesday night at the "Ignorance is Not Bliss" forum, held at Sayville Middle School.

The forum addressed how parents can protect their children from cyberbullying and sexting.

Detective Rory Forrestal, of the Suffolk Police Computer Crimes Section, says that most kids don't realize they're committing a felony when texting nude images.

"No matter what the age, it's all against the law," he says. "The taking the picture, the sending the picture, it's all a very serious offense of New York state law where they stand the potential of being labeled a sex offender in some cases."

Forrestal says children should be aware that the pictures they send out on their cellphones and through social media will be out there forever.

He says parents should know the password for their child's cellphone in order to monitor what's on the phone on a regular basis.