Sending nude photos and video via cell phone (called “sexting”) is a dangerous and fast growing trend among youth. And with spring breaks among us, Red Box won’t be the only peddler of videos during these juvenile fiestas.
Sexting is not new, but it is on the rise. Cases are bubbling up all over the country. Just last week in Virginia, at least two Spotsylvania County students were facing child pornography charges in a sexting case. The naked images of three juvenile females (including an elementary student) were discovered on seven phones.
Last month, high school girls in Greensburg, Pa., were also charged with child pornography after sending seminude photos of themselves to male classmates.
Other similar incidents have resulted in charges in Ohio, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Florida. Law enforcement has recently been called out to investigate sexting-related crimes by dozens of teens in many states across the nation.
And sexting is not just a male-dominant problem. A new national survey concurred that at least one-fifth of all teenagers have sent via cell, or posted online, nude or explicit photos of themselves.
Most astonishing, sexting is become a normative part of the dating scene and protocol among youngsters. Marian Merritt, Symantec’s Internet Safety Advocate, who writes and speaks about issues impacting the online security and safety of kids and families, explains:
Teens believe taking and sharing the sexy photo of themselves is a natural progression point in a romantic relationship. It’s not just “step 1, hold hands; step 2, kiss.” Now it’s “step 1, friend on social network; step 2, chat on IM or text; 3, send sexy photos.” Crazy!
So who’s responsible? That’s easy. First, there’s the juvenile committing the crime. But there are two other culprits as well – accomplices to these acts. Who’s providing the electronic devices? Who pays the phone bills? Whose name is on the plan? And what messages and models are these guardians setting as those who frown upon pornography? And thirdly, there’s a culture that is moving away from moral absolutes, and that includes calling pornography wrong and even a sin.
So are your kids or grandkids involved in or at risk of sexting? Are they practicing safe cell-phoning? Ask them these five questions from Symantec’s Marian Merrit’s advice for helping parents and guardians protect their children from this latest strain of cyber porn.
1. Give me a tour of your cell phone. Any cool features or tricks you can do with your cell phone?
2. Show me how you take a photo with the phone. How do you send it to another e-mail or phone?
3. Where do you save the photos? Show me what you’ve got saved.
4. Has anyone ever sent or shown you a sexy photo of themselves or someone else?
5. Anyone ever asked for your photo? If yes, how did you handle it? If no, what would you do and why?
How can we stop a sexting proliferation? First, parents can no longer pass out cell phones like pancakes to their family and not monitor how they are used. Guardians need to reconsider the purposes of communication and security when children are using cell phones for seduction and porn. Teens need to be educated about sexual illegalities, moralities, and reminded that, if convicted of child pornography crimes, they could face felony consequences and see the words “sex offender” on their juvenile records.
We might live in a technological wonderland, but that doesn’t mean it’s good to eat from all of its fruits. Most especially, we can never throw up our hands in surrender to marketing and peer (or parental) pressure in order to give our kids everything the Joneses have, especially when those things expose them to others exposing themselves! As a wise man said many centuries ago (well sort of), “If your cell phone causes you to stumble, cut it off from your family’s communication plan.”
It’s time to not just answer again the question: Do you know where your kids are this spring break? But, do you know what they’re doing with their cell phones?
