Sexting in the City
Valentine’s day is almost here. Those young and young at heart may spend hours thinking of creative ways to show their Valentine love. Unfortunately for many teens, in addition to hand made marker colored notes and stuffed bears, sexting is now on the menu of Valentine gifts.
About 20 percent of teens are sexting, according to the Sex and Tech survey by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl. Read full article.
What is Sexting?
Sexting involves electronically sending or posting of online nude or semi-nude pictures or videos. Is this really happening? You better believe it.
Why are kids doing it?
There are a variety of reasons. Sometimes girlfriends are sending photos to boyfriends as a “special gift.”
Some girls reported feeling pressured into sending semi nude photos..the old if you love me you would….Many girls do not realize that their boyfriends will likely pass the photos on to friends. This becomes almost inevitable once they have broken up.
Sometimes they are trying to get someone’s attention or to be noticed. Many report they are being flirtatious and see it as fun. Alarmingly, 15% reported that they were sending it to someone they only have met online. Hello… how do you know that person posing as a cute teen boy online is not really a scary old pedophile? Wake up people.
Don’t you get that this gift keeps on giving. Once the photos are unleashed into the Internet, they cannot be retrieved.
What are the ramifications of sexting?
The most important message that parents & teens need to get is that Sexting is against the law. If you are 18 years old and you post nude images of yourself or others on the internet, you can be prosecuted as a felon and will be registered as a sex offender for the rest of your life. Even if the offender is younger than 18 years of age, serious legal problems are possible.
Such an event transpired last month in Pennsylvania where 3 girls who posted nude pictures and 3 boys who received them on their phones face charges for their actions.
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We really do have a serious problem with our teenagers. They have no limits and they have just one thing on their minds: sex. Boys are using emotional blackmail just to get their virgin girlfriends into bed, even if the girls feel ready or not to start their sexual life.
April 29, 2009 - 6:25amThis Comment