Teen Sexting

No, the title of this post is not a misspelling. It is the latest example of how kids are using technology to get into serious trouble that would be unheard of just a few years ago. Sexting is when people send nude self-portraits of themselves to others over their cell phone. Sometimes it is done to get attention, others do it as a way to flirt. Beside the obvious issue of immorality in the actual taking of the picture and sending it out into cyberspace, there are a lot of other problems of this. One is the fact taht once these images are sent out, there is no bringing them back. It is like the advice I often give to people who use emails to send a message, once you put it in writing, there is no taking it back. Then there is the issue of how others can use these pictures to harass the sender or others. Sexually explicit text messages and pictures are often used after a break-up to hurt the person who sent them. Prosecuters have charged a teenage boy with felony obscenity charges for sending a photo of his private parst to several female classmates. Another boy was charged with child pornography in a similar case. In Greensburg, Pa., three high school girls who sent semi-nude pictures and the four male students who recieved them were all charged with child-pornography crimes.
So what should you do as a parent? Make sure you let your children know that you will be looking at their phones, unannounced, on a regular basis to see what texts they have sent and received. It should be considered part of the contract for having phone in the first place. Talk to you kids about this problem and let them know some of the consequences they can face if they send or receive these kinds of texts and photos. If you find explicit material, written, or photographic, don't freak out. Sit down and talk to your child, enforce meaningful consequences, and seek out a counselor.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul