Sexting is just what it sounds like… the combination of two words – SEX & TEXTING.
Digital communication has transformed the way people communicate. Now, more than ever, teens are using cell phones, Facebook, and IMs to instantly message their friends. Cell phones now have photo, video capabilities on nearly every plan, and as the technology expands, so does the inherit responsibility we have to teach civil ways of using them. Texting photos is cool but it unfortunately leaves teens vulnerable to share inappropriate content. Start Strong Wichita is working on a campaign with Thatsnotcool.com to inform Teens and Adults of the dangers of SEXTING and the long term consequences associated with it. Even more unfortunate is this:
THERE IS NO DELETE BUTTON ON THE INTERNET.
Once its out there, it exists FOREVER. That fact is even more alarming when you combine it with a report from CBSNEWS December 30, 2009 that said 29% of teens who shared a naked photo of themselves report that they shared the image with someone who they never met in person and only knew online.
So how big is the actual problem? According to Cosmogirl 2009, One in five teen girls and one in ten younger teen girls (13 to 16) have sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves. Even more teen girls, 37 percent, have sent or posted sexually suggestive text, email or instant messages. Peer pressure is never more evident than in Middle School and High School. More than half of teen girls (51 percent) say pressure from a guy is a reason girls send sexy messages or images, and 18 percent of teen boys say pressure from a girl is a reason.
If the act of public embarrassment is not enough, there are legal implications to consider. Reports from almost every state in the country are popping up with charges to teens who are sending and receiving sexually explicit text messages. Some teenagers who have texted “photographs” of themselves, or of their friends or partners, have been charged with distribution of child pornography, while those who have received the images have been charged with possession of child pornography. (Salon.com, February 20, 2009)
And the ages of the incidents are being investigated at younger and younger ages. CBSNews January 15, 2009 reported that police in Greensburg, PA about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh, say that girls 14 or 15 the boys 16 or 17 have been charged with sending and receiving photos. None are being identified because most criminal cases in Pennsylvania juvenile courts are not public.
Now more than ever conversations are needed with friends and families. SEXTING is not cool and is never appropriate. Too many young adults and teens are dealing with lifelong stigmas from photographs and videos going ‘viral’ and not in the Justin Bieber way.
-The Start Strong Staff
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