Sexting

[Moontanman]

Is sexting sexual exploitation of children or is it just teenagers exploring their own sexuality? Should sexting be prosecuted as Child pornography? Should these teens be labeled as child molesters for a teen age indiscretion?

I keep hearing about sexting and the dire effects it has on the "victims" practically a fate worse than death! Give me a break! The worse thing about sexting is the authorities prosecuting a teenager for kiddie porn and being branded a pedophile for the rest of their life. Do we really want to ruin a teens life for a youthful indiscretion? Doesn't anyone remember Polaroid pictures? When I was young Polaroids were the "sexting" no one died from Polaroid sexting no one will die from this either. Yes some kids have used sexting to bully other kids but that is our tendency to bully people over things that are perceived to be embarrassing. Any kid who is different or vulnerable in some way is often bullied,sexting isn't some special evil. My kids are grown but if they were part of this sexting craze I would ask them do they really want to risk the pervert down the street adding their photo to his or her collecting? Sexting should not be a crime, ruining kids lives over youthful indiscretion is simply wrong. It makes adults look like anal retentive prudes and then kids see TV and magazine adds that glorify and exploit teens sexually and nothing is done because it's done by adults. But when they try to show them selves as sexual they are prosecuted, then we as adults are sending terribly mixed messages. Yes we should discourage sexting but to threaten teens with terrible punishments for something they are doing voluntarily as an exercise in teasing each other then we are the ones who are perverts not the kids. Tell your kids that by sexting they are risking their pics being in cyberspace forever and ask them if they really want to risk their photos to becoming part of the Internet porn trade but don't threaten them with ruined lives or gross exaggerations of reality. Nudity is not going to kill anyone, lets go after real evil not made up evil.

[freeztar]

I was not familiar with the term "sexting" prior to this post. Looking it up, it appears a manipulation of two words, sex and texting. Apparently it's when teens send nude, or partially nude, photos via their cell phones photo texting capabilities.

I must agree that it is tragic that this is seen as criminal activity because of child porn laws. It's a benign and typical teenage activity. Well, not when I was growing up, but, apparently it is these days.

If it's a conscious decision by the person making the photo and sending it, I don't understand what the problem is? I understand the law dictates that 18 is under-age and even if a 16 year old wilfully takes a photo of themselves, they can be prosecuted as child porn distributors. Perhaps that is part of the problem?

I agree, MTM, that it is dumbfounding that kids can have their lives ruined over this.

[Moontanman]

Sexting has been in the news here and it is being played up as the most horrible thing since 911. I know I live in the Bible belt but sexting is being hyped all out of proportion to any reality I am aware of. It reminds me of the idea of a woman who allowed herself to be seduced being doomed to a "fate worse then death" back in, I think, the Victorian era. It is being reported that in some obscure future when one of these guys or girls applies for a job their potential employer will be able to call up these pics from the Internet and the person will be denied a job because they took nude pics of themselves when they were young. Or more likely they will be prosecuted as child molesters and have to be listed on the Internet as a sex criminal for the rest of their lives. Or that the pics will lead to death and destruction in some particularly evil way. It is really getting out of hand and i think it's about time cooler heads stepped in and told all these concerned prudes that the real problem is making such a big deal about such an insignificant thing.

[Buffy]

Sounds like a few people with a misguided agenda that they're trying to justify...

Originally Posted by SF Chronicle, 3/21/2009

Seventeen-year-old Natalie Tracey recently adjusted her cell phone plan to accommodate her growing text-messaging addiction. But the Sacramento high school senior had never heard of anyone at her school "sexting" - sending a nude photo via cell phone.

"Everything about it sounds lame," Natalie said, noting that she was unaware of the term until an adult introduced it to her and that the online humiliations suffered by young celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens and Pete Wentz might serve as a cautionary tale for her generation. "All that stuff just creates drama," she said.

...

"Sexting is the latest way adults are getting panicky about teen sexuality and for mainstream culture to get panicky about technology," said Marty Klein, a Palo Alto author and sex therapist who is leading a panel discussion on the topic. "And when you mix the two together, there's always a lot of anxiety and misunderstanding."

Harshly recapitulant, seeming to get an actual pleasure out of his outrage and impotence. The sheriff did not appear to be listening at all,
Buffy

[Moontanman]

It seems that if you want to attract attention the best way is to do so is to involve teens and sex. The agenda would appear to be demonizing yet another aspect of modern society and the technology that fuels it. It is sad that some teens are being prosecuted for this but that part is not hype, teens are being labeled as sexual criminals for sexting, both receiving and sending. Over zealous local prosecutors looking to add to their reputations via the fear of teen sexuality.

Every generation tries to suppress the sexuality of the next.

[freeztar]

I came across this story while looking up news stories on the Redoubt volcano in AK.

NJ girl, 14, faces child porn charges after posting nude pics of herself online

She's been arrested and may have to register as a sex offender. It was an incredibly stupid move on her part, but I'm not sure she should have to register as a sex offender at the age of 14. Are the parents catching any heat for this?

[belovelife]

Wow, this is an interesting trend. I know in my family I told my cousins that taking pics like that leads to gnarly stuff. But in reality, its innocent. When i was a teenager, an old picture of an old man looking at a naked girl bathing in a tub appeared in my room. I fooled around with girls.
Now is it child molestation if two teenagers have sex. And if so, are they both tried.
Although i think it is a bad idea to take pictures of yourself nude if you are a minor, the fact is that it is happening. Now in general you could educate and try to influence. But if you prosecute and penalize, then all you are doing is contributing to the demonization of possibly a great individual.
__--___---
reminds me of pink floyd's song a momentary lapse of reason
------------
but this is surly a very serious topic

one that needs to be analyzed
mabe even an unwritten law being defined in the teenage community to delete such pictures after being recieved

(written in a pop song would be the best way)

but then again, mabe these pics are minimalizing teenage pregnancy
mabe if the boy gets a pic, he will wait longer to have sex
or mabe its the opposite
mabe more teen pregnancy will occur
mabe no realtion at all
the only thing is if the pictures being spread
that is the bad part
say for instance someone was going for office in their adult life, and their ex-boyfriend posted pics of her that he saved

man, that would make for some good visuals on a music video
you know no actual pics, just inferred concepts
then the adult life
the pic
and then the media coverage
then at the end a boy and girld deleting pics

[Moontanman]

All of this has it's roots in the fact that adults are very uncomfortable with admitting to and allowing teens to be the sexual beings they are. No amount of prosecution will stop teens from having sex or from doing things we as adults see as a bad idea. Prosecuting them for these things as sex crimes is totally wrong. Do we all forget what it was like to be teens? The sexual tension among teens to so thick it's a wonder you can drive a car through it. Is sexting a good idea? Of course not neither was Polaroids or skinny dipping or the back seat of daddy's car or any of the hundreds of other things teens do to explore their sexuality. Teens will not stop being sexual no matter what you do, ignoring it will not stop it and neither will taking the most draconian measures possible. Sexuality and teens is enough to drive adults crazy but if you'll just calm down and think back most of us did the same things and we survived without a "fate worse than death" over coming us, so will the current generation. Oh and BTW the current idea that nudity is automatically pornography is getting out of hand as well. Millions of naturist world wide would differ most strongly on this idea of nudity=pornography. Are we becoming a society of prudes? Is the religious right guiding us down the path of Victorian values as well as creationism? On the other hand sexually charged images of teens are being used to sell almost everything in TV and print as well as online. Somewhere we must find a median between these extremes but I don't think that labeling children as sexual criminals is going to help.

[dannieyankee]

Sexuality is increasing throughout time.

At least, the openness of sexuality. Except in America.

Teenagers in the States are fighting for their right to express sexuality, as far as I can tell, with all of these things going on. Fight for birth control, fight for 'sexting'.

It seems that the US is one of few countries that prefers to promote abstinence rather than safe sex, making it harder and harder for teens to reach thing such as birth control in hopes that all of a sudden teenagers will no longer be horny, or even teenagers anymore.

Now they're trying to prosecute teens for taking pictures. Of themselves. Oh lord, we're going down down down.

The fact that they even made a word for it shows that people are severely overreacting. Yes, teens may screw up and embarrass themselves, but come on! You don't prosecute screw-ups for everything they do. The only thing these people are doing is screwing up. They aren't hurting anyone but themselves. There's the argument that they're also hurting their family, but come on. This is PERSONAL, not CRIMINAL.

[maddog]

I was aware this was going on. Sad.

My wife had come up with a creative (throwback to the past) idea, something akin to a
"Scarlet Letter", "badge of shame". Make this a simple judgment by your peers and not
a criminal act. These kids are themselves minors, so to make them a Pedophile is
equivalent to treating under the law as an adult. This is legally a contradiction.

My wife's idea was that these kids if caught would be known by their peers as such and
would be forced to "wear" some item on their clothing identifying them as such while in
school. Their peers will teach these kids better than permanently branding them as sex
criminals.

For some this could backfire as some corrupted kids might like this "attention". For the
most part it might be positive if it could curb Sexting behavior.

maddog