The Controversial Issue Of Teenage Sexting

Teens may unintentionally send a sext but along with legal consequences some emotional consequences may occur.

Selina’s Atlantic article takes the story of a sexting scandal in Louisa, VA to make broader claims about sexting. During the discussion of this article we focused on a variety of reasons for sexting. Such reasons include sharing pictures with a trusted partner and believing that everybody is sexting, thus there is a lack of shame among peers. Additionally, sexting is perceived to be the social norm in high school, thus creating the notion that if you do not sext you are in the wrong and considered to be weird. With such motivations, kids and teenagers do not think about the potential repercussions. However, at least 20 states have passed legislation addressing sexting, but the problem is that these laws do not allow for nuance. As such, teens are labeled as sex

One serious issue is sexting, Sexting among teens is not only illegal, but harmful and dangerous among the sender and the receiver. Both are held responsible for child pornography and can be dealt serious consequences. Sexting causes an increase in teen suicides, anxiety self-esteem and involves pressure meaning another forum cyberbullying. Exposing these pornographic photos will not only stress the deliverer but lead to sexual harassment in conclusion.

Parents with teenagers that have cell phones or electronics or are thinking about getting one should really consider the sexting trend and the mitruity of their teen before buying a phone. There are some dangers that come with cell phones, and one of the biggest problems is sexting. Sexting is sending or requesting explicit photos, videos or messages.

Imagine your teen facing pornography charges, as they are forced to register as a sex offender. You may think this is an image in a bad movie, but it happened in North Carolina, New Jersey, Utah, and several other states. In these states, 16 to 18 year old teens teased each other with “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours” type dares. After sending each other nude selfies, they found themselves charged with distributing child pornography. Imagine the enormous stress, public humiliation, and legal feels their parents and they faced. Parents can no longer turn a blind eye to sexting. Recent research found that over 20% of American teens admitted sending a nude selfie and over 25% admitted to forwarding a sext, which they received, to friends.

Americans recently discovered an emerging trend known as adolescent sexting. Sexting has been defined as the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images, messages, or video through a cellphone or the Internet. Sexting can also be referred to as sending nudes. As Guidance Counselors at a High School it is imperative that we educate ourselves and our students on the consequences sexting may have. Many students fail to realize that once the photos or messages are sent, there is no turning back. Those images/messages may be forwarded to audiences via the internet and various social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat etc, causing humiliation, depression and in some cases even causing suicide.

In the US today Americans recently discovered an emerging trend known as adolescent sexting. Sexting has been defined as the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images, messages, or video through a cellphone or the Internet; sexting can also be referred to as sending nudes. As Guidance Counselors at a High School it is imperative that we educate ourselves and our students on the consequences sexting may have. Many students fail to realize that once the photos or messages are sent there is no turning back. Those images/messages may be forwarded to audiences via the internet and various social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat etc. causing humiliation, depression and in some cases even causing suicide.

Social media has become an outlet for teenagers to communicate constantly, monitor each other’s lives, and control what they want others to see. As social media is becoming more and more popular, more teenage moral panics are occurring. A moral panic is defined as the “fear of a new technology’s or cultural form’s negative impact outside of parental control.” (Jackson) Throughout these past few years, there have been an endless amount of teenage moral panics. Snapchat is an application that has caused a great amount of controversy. With the Snapchat application, you get to control how long the person you send a photo to can view that photo before it disappears. The problem with this is that you can take a snapshot of the photo before it disappears. Snapchat has become to be a teenage moral panic; more specifically Snapchat “sexting”, which is “the act of sending sexual messages and pictures to another person through phones or the internet.”(Klower) On Snapchat parents cannot control what their teenagers are sending and to who their teenagers are sending pictures and videos to. Therefore, teenagers feel a sense of privacy, and use the application to sext, which can lead to various negative behaviors.

Sexting is imprudent, untoward, and unfortunately - not all that uncommon. In a recent study of college freshmen, thirty-one percent of the participants reported sending a sexting image of themselves in high school to someone else using a cell phone (Martinez-Prather, 28).This action is a felony crime in Kansas, punishable by up to thirty-four years in jail, a substantial fine, and inclusion on the registered sexual offender list for life (Mobile Media Guard). While this may seem like excessive punishment for sexting, this punishment in not specifically for sexing. Since Kansas has no laws directly related to sexting, when minors are involved in sexting, the laws they have broken are those

Often, Individuals sext to a partner or friends for their viewing only or in a unclear judgment, they might let someone take pictures of them that they might not otherwise agree to. Sexting under the age of eighteen, by the means of sending sexually explicit pictures is classified as child pornography. This is a contemporary issue as it is occurring now, and will continue to occur.

Parents also need to educate themselves about the problem of "sexting", including the potential issues of this behavior, and the resources which can help them address the issue with their children. (Social Policy Law, 2015)

Jesse Logan was a girl who had just graduated from high school when she was humiliated by her ex-boyfriend to an unforgivable state.  She sent a fully frontal nude photograph of herself to her then-boyfriend, which is now known as sexting.  After their breakup, the ex-boyfriend forwarded Jesse's sext to their entire school, causing her embarrassment and humiliation.  She then did an interview with the Today Show stating "I just want to make sure no one else will have to go through this again."  Two months later she was found in her bedroom.  She hanged herself.  As a nation, how is it going to be possible to implement a policy that will work sufficiently?  I believe that through annual, educational assemblies in elementary schools for

Although sexting is a bigger issue if underage teens are participating, it’s not just teens that are getting in trouble with the law for sexting. A psychologist and New York author has conducted a survey of 323 anonymous volunteers to explore their attitudes toward the sexting experience. “Basically, sexters feel very positively towards sexting, whereas non-sexters think it’s a terrible idea” “People [aged] 13 to 19 are actively involved in sexting, but those [between] 20 to 26 are even more involved.” In June

She explains that the girls she interviewed were not as much devastated or surprised, but betrayed and embarrassed. She highlights the difference between whether the teens are exploring their sexuality or being exploited. She stresses that parents need not overreact, otherwise causing a bigger disaster than the one in the first place. With a rise in the use of technology, the issue of sexting is going to become an even bigger issue. She even brought up the double standard that girls face; if they send pictures, they are a “slut”, but if they do not, they are a “prude”, while boys are not judged whether they sext or

Vermont has a specific statute pertaining to minors engaged in sexting. They will be tried delinquent and referred to juvenile diversion for a first-time offense. A second or subsequent offense may be charged as a crime for the sexual exploitation of children, but will not have to register as sex offenders. Criminal records can be expunged when minors charged with sexting turn 18. If a minor receives a sext but deletes the image, they may have a defense against the charges. An adult 18 years of age or older who is found to have a sexually explicit image of a minor and the minor knowingly and voluntarily sent the image, the adult may be punished with a fine of up to $300 and/or up to 6 months in prison.