Ignore This and You Might Ruin Your Kid’s Life – Sexting is a Potential Sex Crime
A recently published report by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy indicates that over 20% of teens (ages 13-19) and an incredible 33% of young adults (ages 20-26) have shared nude or semi-nude images of themselves either over mobile phone SMS text messages or by posting on the internet. Teenage girls are a little more likely to do this than boys and a very distressing 11% of the young teen girls (ages 13-16) admitted to sending inappropriate photos of themselves.
Recent reports from The Nielsen Company and the Pew Research Center indicate several factors that should be troubling to parents and guardians. These problems are also an opportunity for software solutions companies. There is growth in the number of young people that own mobile phones, the amount of texting they do, and more troubling the percentage of youths that are occupied with “sexting” – the sending of provocative images or text messages from mobile phones.
What’s the fuss? Just innocent fun, adolescents exploring their new sexuality?
You might want to reconsider. Sending a sexually explicit image of a child 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 can also affect future employment opportunities, such as those offered in law enforcement and other high-security clearance positions. In other words, they’re ruining their lives over a little “innocent” fun.
There is very little that is innocent about it. {Keep in mind|Consider} that if a young teen sends a sexting photo of themselves – they could be breaking child pornography statues in most states.
A conviction in felony court for “sexting” can easily result in other serious consequences. In addition to the potential jail sentence and/or fine levied by a judge, registration may be stipulated with the Sex Offender Registration Board for the next 20 years. Furthermore, the felony court may order the surrender and destruction of the computer or digital devices used.
As sending SMS text messages from mobile phones has become a focus in teenager social life, parents, educators and advocates have grown increasingly anxious about the role of cell phones in the sexual lives of young adults. A fresh research study from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (pewinternet.org/topics/Teens.aspx) determined that four percent of cell-owning teenagers ages twelve to seventeen indicate they have sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to other people via SMS text messages. This practice is commonly known as “sexting” in the current vernacular. Additionally, fifteen percent say they have received such images of someone they already know by way of text message.
According to research from marketing research firm The Nielsen Company (blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/under-aged-texting-usage-and-actual-cost/) American young people send an undreamed of average of ten SMS text messages per hour that they are not in school or sleeping – and probably a lot during school too!
By evaluating over than forty thousand monthly US mobile telecom 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 an average of 1,146 texts every month. That that averages out to about four per hour they were in school or not sleeping. In comparison, 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 from age 9 to 12 increased messaging usage by eight percent just about doubling the quantity of text messages.
Focus group findings show that sexting occurs usually during one of three specific scenarios: The first, exchanges of images only between two romantic partners;
the next, lists exchanges between partners that are then shared with other people; followed by, exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but with one person hoping there will be one hopes to be}.
Teenagers were interviewed and gave Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist and author of the report various reasons surrounding the motivation to participate in 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 photos are also passed along to friends “… for their entertainment value, as a joke, or for fun.”
Teenagers also shared with researchers the peer pressure to share these types of pictures. Not surprisingly the report also reveals that teens 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 a variety of content that doing without it is nearly unthinkable.
The combination of risk-taking and sexual exploration during the teenage years mixed with constant 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 some indications that per user usage has peaked, Nielsen estimates that overall text message usage will grow as the heavy text messaging population ages and entices the older generations to text with them in order to stay in contact with them. Existing SMS users are expected to continue to text extensively and as tweenagers age they will increase usage. The average number of text messages per user has increased every year, and there is room for growth.
If you’ve got kids then you’re probably not surprised by the usage statistics. But in all liklihood you’re also either in denial that your kids are involved in sexting, or you’re actively seeking solutions to the problem. In all probability most parents can’t believe their teens are involved with sexting, or they are looking for ways to find out. While parents may fume 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 concerning parents is not so much how often teens use their phones but has more to do with how they use their phones, and when they are texting.
Sexting is a very complex topic. Consequently, it is very difficult to provide guidance on how best to manage these situations. The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children policy states that there are four roles to every sexting case: someone seen in the photo, the person who took the photo, 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 photo, 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 consider the intentions and motives of each of the parties under different circumstances.
The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children advocates parents monitor cell phone use. A practical technological solution available for parents and guardians to find out what their {children are doing~what’s going on with their teens} is cell phone software.
Sexting can be against the law. Parents have responsibility to stop it. Especially when low cost solutions can be ordered over the internet. A really great software package that includes remote control of handset settings, and combines Cell Phone Tracking with SMS text message, Call Log, MMS multi-media message monitoring, and a web account for storage and review is PhoneBeagle.
Follow this link if you are interested in Mobile Monitoring Software that is compatible with BlackBerry and Android Smartphones,. Visit this link for more information regarding the latest software for
Parental Monitoring of Mobile Phones .
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