The Dangers of Sexting
Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy. Do you remember what it was like in the old days when attraction was communicated by a small crumpled paper note with the infamous question, “will you go out with me?” Others with a little less courage would send a messenger, typically a trusted friend, who would assess whether or not our crush was mutually interested. The world has changed. In our lifetime we’ve grown accustomed to touch screens, voice recognition software and little by little, we started exchanging face-to-face interaction for computerized interactivity.
At the turn of the century, most of our human interaction began taking place electronically via instant messenger, webcams, e-mail and texting. Websites were no longer the exclusive playground of big companies and professional webmasters but they became a regular hangout spot for regular people who could launch an online presence by simply pasting coding, using templates and creating an online persona with the exchange of some personal information. Social media trends gave birth to what is now known as online communities giving sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter an invitation to become a integral part of today’s generation.
Electronic communication gives its users a false sense of control over relationships because the user is able to accept or decline friendship invitations, adjust privacy settings to include or exclude people and even categorize followers. Students have learned to socialize in a way where an edit button is always available and where mistakes can easily go away by simply pressing down on the delete key. With this much level of control, students find it hard to imagine that something can be out of their personal management or beyond their ability to make it go away. So they trust. And many lower their guard to the dangers and responsibilities that are inherent with digital communication.
The latest trend in teenage flirting is sending nude or semi-nude photos of themselves. They call it, Sexting, and it’s becoming a much bigger deal than what we originally thought because both boys and girls have gone wild over this exchange.
In the fall of 2008, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com commissioned TRU, a global leader in teenage and young adult research who surveyed 1,280 online respondents between the ages of 13-26. Their findings show that 20% of teenagers have sent/posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves. Furthermore, 38% of teen girls and 39% of teen boys say they have had sexually suggestive text messages or emails – originally meant for someone else—shared with them.
© Ken Bank | Flickr images by kiwanja
Let’s Talk About It
I am doing extensive research on the topic of Sexting and I would like your feedback. What do you think about all of this?
1) Should parents to be held liable or should teenagers be responsible for the consequences of their actions (even receiving felony charges for distributing child pornography)?
2) Is this just another fad or is it an indication of morality levels among teenagers?
3) Should parents be aware of what their teenager is posting or would that be a violation of privacy?
Copyright © 2009 Cesar G. Gamez, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Related posts:
OH EMM GEE!!!! CESAR!!! How do you have time for this……we don't even have time to read this entire thing…come on. This is Kristina and Jenny by the way. We did like your gift ideas however, hahaha : ) Anyways, at the end of the day just when you thought you got rid of us WE'RE BAAAACK!! We will continue to leave you abusive comments so be prepared and have a merry christmas. I hope you have tamales for Christmas dinner.
Adios
Jenny and Kelly Garcia
Hey Cesar, Of course parents should be aware of what their teen is posting. It is their duty as parents. I'm not raising teens, I'm raising adults. And when my children ARE adults, then they can have all the privacy they like. In the meantime, I am going to tell them what I expect of them and I am going to be a major part of their lives. This is essentially why I homeschool. My children have me, an adult, as their main influence, not their peers. So far, because this is what they are used to, they have and are becoming great young adults whom I enjoy being with. (Not perfect, mind you, I'm not naive.)
Heather,
Very interesting thoughts. I'm glad you took the time to share your view because your perspective is needed (and I value it too).
Corban is the only teen with a phone so far, and he voluntarily brings it to me so that I can read his texts before he deletes them. As a young adult, he understands the need for accountability and in his young wisdom, willingly submits to it. Now, I realize that not all parents have this type of relationship with their children, and who knows, my next few boys coming up could be different (but so far, they aren't, and they come to me with their confidences) but I still believe that as parents we will be held accountable before the Lord in what we allowed into our childrens lives and minds.
Mark 9:42 "And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.
So, if your cell phone causes you to sin, get rid of it!
Good article. Sad it is necessary though.
Thanks for the post.
Yes, I think teens should be held resposible for the distribution of child pornography if it occurs. As for the parents, well, for some of us, mobile phones weren't around when we were teens, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be aware of what are teen is up to