Living in an online, technologically advanced era certainly has its perks; however, young teens’ text messaging, picture messaging, and social networking can get out of hand if not properly monitored. If abused, these forms of communication can lead to “cyber-bullying” and can profoundly affect the emotional and psychological development of a child.
A quickly emerging form of communication amongst young teens is “sexting.” “Sexting” is the act of sending or posting nude or partially nude images of minors. Many youth are convinced that anything they want to do with their bodies and their phones is their business. Cell phones are a relatively new form of communication in our society and provide young individuals an unprecedented privacy and freedom from their parents or guardians. One in five teens has used this privacy and freedom to explore their sexuality by having sent a sexually-suggestive text or picture message. Young teens are often pressured by friends, respond to a sexual message they’ve received, and others willingly send nude photos of themselves to a boyfriend or girlfriend. These teens often make these decisions without thinking about the consequences. “Sexting” poses a significant social danger. Digitally sent sexually explicit material can be very easily and widely distributed. Trust is broken when an image is forwarded without the originator’s consent and this image is impossible to get back, having the potential to circulate forever. Youth engaging in this form of communication risk reoccurring embarrassment and victimization.
Youth who sext may face charges of producing, possessing, or distributing child pornography. As long as sexually-suggestive messages circulate, anyone with them may face charges. Furthermore, these pictures can find their way into the hands of sexual predators that prey on children and collect child pornography. This type of exploitation can be psychologically devastating for the creator.
How can responsible parents prevent their children from “sexting?” I believe the establishment of household rules and expectations regarding text messaging and access to the internet can help a great deal with this conflict. When expectations are not met, youth should face highly restricted and monitored access to the internet and texting functions. Although restricting and monitoring a teen’s access to the internet and other mobile devices may reduce his or her feeling of independence and sense of personal autonomy, this type of control may be necessary to protect the innocence of children everywhere.
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I do agree that it may be tough to monitor all of the access your teens are available to in the technology such as phones, internet, etc. I have a hard time understanding some parents justification for allowing their teens to have computers and phones all equipped with cams in their bedrooms. As bedrooms are a teen’s most used source to be home but escape the family, I believe that this is where a parent high monitoring skill should be utilized. I believe that keeping the computer in "public" space of the house will not only create better opportunity to monitor but also keep you better connected because your teen may not be as isolated.
ReplyDeleteI agree with that we need to monitor children more. I think that children who engage in sexting set themselves up for riskier behaviors in the future. Although this isn't tested. I remember in my hometown there was a huge sexting problem with a 7th grade class. This year they were freshmen in high school and they were getting caught doing things that were unheard of in Lewitown. One couple got caught in the school parking lot, whereas another got caught in the school bathroom. Then there was the student that got caught with the resource officer. All of this occured in that 7th grade class with the sexting problem.
ReplyDeleteDo we need to monitor children more, or at a level where we could have the opportunity to educate them on the dangers of sexting, not in assembly form, but personal one on one discussions, backed up with personal research and case law (aka effective scare tactics)?
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