Sexting...The New Fad..

April 16,2010

Sexting is a form of texting. Since 2005, the new term "sexting" has taken the form of regular texting to new heights. Normally, texting features in most cell phones are exactly that: a way to send short messages that the person can respond too if he or she has that active feature in their phone. As cell phone technology has advanced, texting has involved more than just words. Now you can receive video and pictures through text messaging services. With every new generation, there is always a new fad of some sort. For this new "geno" generation, that fad would be sexting.

Sexting involves sending sexually explicit messages and or pictures or videos via the internet and cell phone, but primarily mobile phones. Sexting is considered to be a new age of "sex" (Cosmogirl, 2008). This affects more than the body. It also affects the mind and emotions of already hormone induced teens who are looking for guidance and the next big thing to do. For most teens, the conventional form of sex is out of the question, so this is a way to engage, and not engage, quietly and away from parental scrutiny. Most parents have no idea that this type of behavior is going on with their teens. It came to light only recently, and the media was all over it. In a way, it’s a godsend for most parents to have something else to look out for with their kids, and some probably would take the lesser of the two evils and say, "well, at least they are not actually having sex."

Even though this might seem completely harmless, legally people have been charged as both juveniles and adults as a result of sexting. In most states, if the teens that are sending and receiving are underage, it is considered child pornography. A boy sent a picture of his own genitals to his female classmates and was charged with felony obscenity. Girls have sent nude pictures of themselves to older boys, and the boys, while innocent, were still charged with child pornography because of the girl's age. Untold riots and fights have broken out among teen groups due to "private" pictures being distributed to other students without permission, causing humility and embarrassment, which may lead to hostility and aggression. While sexting has not been proven to be the leading cause of premarital sex among adolescents, it can and has contributed to it. One out of five teenagers either have received or sent inappropriate pictures or videos of themselves. However, it has been found that teens who establish good relationships with their parents or a trusted guardian have a tendency to be more open about these issues (Rice & Dolgin, 2008). Parents need to talk to their teens about how socially and emotionally damaging sexting can be. The consequences are not worth the risk, and in some cases the consequences are permanent.

CosmoGirl (2008) Retrieved April,12 2010, from http:// www.cosmogirl.com

Rice, F. & Dolgin, K. (2008). The adolescent: Development, relationships, and Culture (12th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

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