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Thursday, February 19, 2009
Have you talked to your child about teen sex…ting?
Are underaged kids who send explicit photos or texts to peers technically guilty of child pornography?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Theresa is still out sick. Keith Still is filling in today and tomorrow.
Over the weekend, the AJC’s Phil Kloer and Helena Oliviero authored an article that discussed how online threats to teens come more often from their peers than predatory strangers. “Sexting” is a cute word for one of those threats, where kids text sexually-explicit messages and photos to each other.
As disconcerting as it is to imagine our kids engaging in racy or raunchy sex talk by cell phone, about one in five have done some form of sexting. About 20 percent of teens have also sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves over their mobiles. The technological advance of the camera phone, the built-in distance of a text message and the ubiquitous nature of cell phones may make it easier (or more comfortable) for teens to explore sex topics earlier or in more advanced ways than their parents did.
In reality, teens have been searching for new and exciting ways to explore the verboten issue of sex since the first adolescents rolled their eyes at their parents. I understand teens think about sex, and I’m sure I would be disturbed by some of the thoughts they’re thinking. What’s even more disturbing is the potential danger presented by their method of sharing those thoughts.
As adults, we understand that nothing posted online is truly “private”. You email someone, comment on a blog or post a photo on Facebook, and it’s out there. You can take the photo down or delete the email, but you can never completely erase that image or message from cyberspace. We have all heard stories or know first-hand how those things can come back to haunt people in their personal and public lives.
Not only might teens be unaware their sex texts and indecent photos could be seen by countless people without their consent, but kids who send and receive those photos could technically be charged with possessing or distributing child pornography under some state laws. Whether or not you agree that this is truly child porn, these teens could still be looking at a felony charge. If caught, prosecuted and convicted, “sexters” could end up in prison, on a sex offender registry and possibly unable to live near a church, day care or their own bus stop.
Have you talked to your texting teens about the dangers of sex messaging? Are you more concerned about possible legal ramifications of these electronic communications or the fact that your kids are saying what they’re saying/sending what they’re sending in the first place? Are your children concerned about their online/electronic privacy? Would you check your child’s phone for evidence of sexting?
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