Be Responsible or Let your Kid Ruin Their Life – Sexting is a Potential Sex Crime
A recently published report by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found that over 20% of teens (ages 13-19) and a hard to fathom 33% of young adults (ages 20-26) have shared nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves either via cell phone text messaging or by posting online. Teenage girls are a little more likely to do this than boys and a very disturbing 11% of the young teen girls (ages 13-16) admitted to sending suggestive photos of themselves.
Recent reports from The Nielsen Company and the Pew Research Center point out a handful of factors that should be troubling to parents and guardians. These problems are also an opportunity for software solutions companies. There is a rise in the percentage of young people that own cellular phones, the amount of texting they do, and more troubling the number of young adults that are involved in “sexting” – the sending of provocative images or text messages from cell phones.
What’s the fuss? Just innocent fun, youth exploring their new sexuality?
You might want to reconsider. Sending a sexually explicit image of someone underage is a sex crime. Young people are being arrested, convicted and having to register as sex offenders. They are gambling with more than emotional distress and humiliation, charges of sexual misconduct can result in getting suspended and expelled from school, losing scholarships, and losing jobs. A felony conviction may also affect future employment opportunities, such as those offered in law enforcement and other high-security clearance positions. In other words, ruining their lives over a little “innocent” fun.
There isn’t anything innocent about it. Consider that if a young teen sends a sexting photo of themselves – they could be violating child pornography statues in most states.
A conviction in felony court for “sexting” may result in other serious consequences. In addition to the potential jail sentence and/or fine imposed by the court, they may be required to register with the Sex Offender Registration Board for the next 20 years. Additionally, the criminal court may order the surrender and destruction of the computer or digital devices used.
As texting from cell phones has become a focus in youth social life, parents, educators and advocates have grown increasingly concerned about the role of cellular phones in the sexual lives of teenagers. A new research study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (pewinternet.org/topics/Teens.aspx) concluded that 4% of mobile phone owning young people between the ages of 12-17 indicate they have sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to other people using SMS text messages. This practice is commonly referred to “sexting” in the current slang. Additionally, 15% say they have received these kinds of images images of someone they actually know by way of text message.
According to research from market researchers The Nielsen Company (blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/under-aged-texting-usage-and-actual-cost/) American young people transmit an unbelievable average of ten SMS text messages per hour that they are not in school or sleeping – and most likely a lot during school too!
By examining over than forty thousand monthly US mobile mobile bills, Nielsen determined that American teenagers sent an average of an inconceivable 3,146 text messages every month during the third quarter 2009.
Their younger counterparts – tweenagers – aged nine to twelve sent about 1,100 text messages each month. That that averages out to about four every hour they were in school or not sleeping. To put that in perspective, the average number of monthly texts sent by all cellular users collectively was a little more than five hundred. In the fourth quarter 2009, tweenage users aged nine to twelve increased SMS usage by 8% just about doubling the quantity of text messages.
Focus group findings show that sending provocative images happens usually during one of three different scenarios: The first, involves exchanges of images only between two romantic partners;
the next, lists exchanges between partners that are then shared outside the relationship; followed by, exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but where often one party hopes to be.
Teens were interviewed and gave researchers various reasons surrounding the motivation to get involved with sexting. These included the researcher’s interpretation that “…sexually suggestive images had become a form of relationship currency,”; that sexting images “… are shared as a part of or instead of sexual activity,” and that SMS text message sexting is a way of starting or maintaining a relationship. Sensitive images are also passed along to other people “… for their entertainment value, as a joke, or for fun.”
Teens also described to researchers the peer pressure to share sexual images. Not surprisingly the report revealed that young people who are more intense users of mobile phones are more likely to receive sexually suggestive images. For these young people, the phone has become such an important conduit for communication and content of all kinds that doing without it is unlikely.
The desire for risk-taking and sexual exploration during the teenage years mixed with regular connection via cell phones and other mobile devices “…creates a ‘perfect storm’ for sexting,” said Pew’s Amanda Lenhart. “Teenagers have always grappled with issues around sex and relationships, but their coming-of-age mistakes and transgressions have never been so easily transmitted and archived for others to see.”
Despite the indications that per user usage has peaked (they can’t possibly use them more can they?!?) Nielsen forecasts that overall text message usage will increase as the heavy text messaging demographic ages and entices the older generations to text with them in order to stay in contact with them. Current SMS users will continue to use texting extensively and as tweenagers age they will increase usage. The number of text messages sent per capita has grown every year and should continue.
If you’ve got children then in all likelihood not shocked by the usage statistics. In all probability most parents don’t believe their teenagers are involved with sexting, or they are looking for ways to find out. While parents may get angry that all the texts their teens and tweens are sending will land them in the poorhouse, Nielsen research indicates the average cost of a single text message is only about one penny. The real issue affecting families is not so much how often teens use their phones but more about how they use their phones, and when they are texting.
Sexting is a very complex issue. Consequently, it is very difficult to provide guidance on how best to handle these situations. The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children policy talks about that there are four roles to every sexting case: the individual seen in the image, the individual who took the image, the distributor(s) of the picture, and the recipient(s) of the picture. In some cases one person may assume more than one of these roles (e.g., a child takes a sexually explicit picture, of herself and sends it to a friend). In other situations, multiple people may take on a single role (e.g., a child takes a sexually explicit picture of himself and sends it to a classmate who then forwards the photo to the entire high school senior class). It is important to think about the intentions and motives of each of the parties in every situation.
The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children advocates parents monitor cell phone use. A workable technological solution available for parents and guardians to find out what what’s going on with their teenagers is cell phone software.
Sexting can be against the law. Parents are responsible to do something about it. Especially when low cost solutions can be ordered over the internet. A really great software package that includes remote control of device settings, and combines Phone GPS Tracking with SMS text message, Call Log, MMS multi-media message monitoring, and a web account for storage.
Sexting Could be Illegal Cell Phone Tracking, Read SMS Texts & Email, Call Activity Logs, MMS Multi-media Pictures & Video, Websites Visited, Listen to Calls and More
Mobile Spy for Stealth Cellphone Monitoring and Tracking (Mobile Spy offers a reliable feature-set for a wide range of phone brands - preferred)
PhoneSheriff for Parental Monitoring and Control of Mobile phones (made by the same people that make Mobile Spy, a lot of features for lots of phones)
For Cellphone Monitoring and Tracking including Eavesdropping - Cell phone Tapping or Hearing Surroundings the very best options are MobiStealth (comparable newcomer, quite a lot of capabilities) or FlexiSpy (the pioneer for Spy Phones)
For Parental Monitoring and Control of Computers: SpyBUBBLE (installs remotely through email) and/or Spybubble (numerous features, extremely popular) and/or AceSpy (competes with WebWatcher, packed with features and it has editions for both Apple Mac or Windows), and/or Net Nanny (perfect for youngsters, both Mac and Windows)
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