“My kid may be doing what?” Yes, Mom and Dad, the phenomenon of “Sexting” is taking off (no pun intended). If you don’t know what “Sexting” is, it involves people, mostly teens, taking nude pictures of themselves and sending them using their cell phones to others. This action has resulted in some teens being charged with violations of Child Pornography laws. These laws can carry some serious penalties, the most serious being registration on Sex Offenders databases for ten years. With this in mind, what would happen if the offending material was found on your personal computer?
Why is this happening and what do you need to be aware of to keep you and your kids safe?
Generation Reality
So many kids in this generation have grown up in the age of reality shows, and so many of them will do almost anything for attention and to try to “fit in.” We have had Survivor, Fear Factor, Big Brother, and Jackass grace the screens of our television, movie theaters and internet for almost a decade, and the ability for children, tweens, and teens to see these can influence the way they look at society and themselves. Aren’t they just doing what they have been taught?
There is a de-sensitization to privacy, intimacy, and self-respect that is, in part a symptom of the media phenomena and our culture. When I can turn on the TV or the computer and see Jack Ass-type behaviors anywhere I turn, it sends that idea that doing the extreme can get me attention, and where there is attention, there may be acceptance and possibly love and belongingness, at any cost. And when I want to fit in and/or stand out in the crowd, taking a dare or doing the extreme will help me achieve that end. Sexting is a way to feel powerful, and in some ways I think it can inappropriately be viewed as personal P.R. in a competitive market for attention and even potential fame.
We seem to live in an extreme time, and what people used to feel was a “dare never to be done” is potentially becoming run-of-the-mill. Many kids have not lost their self-respect as much as they have maybe never learned how to find it. Searching for approval, acceptance, what they think is love and instant gratification is likely what the goal is.
