Sexting Could be a Sex Crime
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 about 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 over mobile phone SMS text messages or by posting on the web. Teenage girls are slightly 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 a handful of factors that should be troubling to parents and guardians. These topics are also an opportunity for software solutions companies. There is an increase in the number of teenagers that own cellular phones, the amount of texting they do, and more troubling the number of young adults that participate in “sexting” – the sending of provocative images or text messages from cell phones.
What’s the fuss? Just innocent fun, youth discovering their new sexuality?
You might want to reconsider. Sending a sexually explicit picture 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.
Getting convicted in criminal court for “sexting” can have 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. Furthermore, the criminal court may order the surrender and destruction of the computer or digital devices used.
As sending text messages from cellular phones has become a centerpiece in youth social life, parents, educators and advocates have grown increasingly worried about the role of cell phones in the sexual lives of young adults. A recent survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (pewinternet.org/topics/Teens.aspx) concluded that four percent of mobile phone owning teens ages 12-17 indicate they have transmitted sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to someone else via SMS text messages. This activity is commonly known as “sexting” in today’s slang. Additionally, 15% say they have received such images of someone they already know via text message.
According to a study from marketing research firm The Nielsen Company (blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/under-aged-texting-usage-and-actual-cost/) American teenagers send an undreamed of average of ten text messages every hour that they are not in school or sleeping – and most likely a lot during their classes too!
By analyzing more than 40,000 monthly US mobile mobile bills, Nielsen concluded that American teenagers sent an average of an astonishing 3,146 texts every month during Q3 2009.
Their younger counterparts – tweenagers – ages 9-12 years old sent about 1,100 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 mobile phone users combined was a little more than five hundred. In the fourth quarter 2009, tweenage users aged nine to twelve increased text usage by eight percent just about doubling the quantity of text messages.
Pew Research points out that sexting occurs most often during one of three typical scenarios: The first, exchanges of images just 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.
Teens were interviewed and gave researchers various reasons behind the impulse 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 establishing a relationship. Sensitive images are also passed along to friends “… for their entertainment value, as a joke, or for fun.”
Teenagers also described to researchers the peer pressure to share these types of pictures. Not surprisingly the report revealed that teens who are more intense users of mobile phones are more likely to receive inappropriate images. For these youths, the phone has become such an important conduit for communication and a variety of content that turning it off is nearly unthinkable.
The combination of risk-taking and sexual exploration during the teen 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 predicts that overall text message usage will increase as the avid user 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 use texting 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 teens then in all likelihood not shocked by the usage statistics. But chances are you’re also either in denial that your children are involved in sexting, or you’re actively seeking solutions to the problem. While parents may get angry that all the texts their teens and tweens are sending are going to break the bank, Nielsen analysis shows 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 more about how they use their phones, and when they are using them.
Sexting is a very complex issue. Consequently, it is very difficult to provide advice 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: the person seen in the image, the individual who took the photo, the distributor(s) of the photo, and the recipient(s) of the photo. In some cases one person may assume more than one of these roles (e.g., a child takes a sexually explicit image, of herself and sends it to a classmate). 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 intent and motivation of each of the parties in every situation.
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 kids are doing is mobile monitoring technology.
Sexting can be illegal. Parents are responsible to stop it. Especially when low cost solutions can be ordered over the internet. A really great software package that includes remote control of smartphone settings, and combines Phone GPS Tracking with SMS text message, Call Log, MMS multi-media message monitoring, and a web account for storage and review is PhoneBeagle.
