A recent study by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy suggests that over 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 using mobile phone text messaging or by posting online. A bit surprisingly teenage girls are a little more likely to do this than boys and a very disturbing 11% of the young teen girls (ages 13-16) admitted to sending suggestive pictures of themselves.
The Nielsen Company and the Pew Research Center surveys show several factors that should be troubling to parents and guardians. There is an increase in the percentage of young people that use cellular phones, the amount of texting they do, and more troubling the number of young people that are involved in “sexting” – the sending of potentially illegal images or text messages from mobile phones.
Why the fuss and bother? Just innocent fun, youth exploring their new sexuality?
You might want to reconsider. Sending a sexually explicit image of someone underage might be a sex crime. Youth are getting themselves 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 job opportunities, including law enforcement and other high-security clearance positions.
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 felony court for “sexting” will have other serious consequences. In addition to the potential jail sentence and/or fine levied by a judge, they may be required to register with the Sex Offender Registration Board for the next 20 years. Additionally, the felony court may order the forfeiture and destruction of the computer or digital devices used.
As sending SMS text messages from mobile phones has become a centerpiece in teen social life, parents, educators and advocates have grown increasingly worried about the role of cellular phones in the sexual lives of teenagers. 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 12-17 indicate they have sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to someone else via text messaging. This practice is typically referred to “sexting” in the current vernacular. Furthermore, fifteen percent say they have received such images of someone they actually know by way of SMS.
According to a report from marketing research firm The Nielsen Company (blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/under-aged-texting-usage-and-actual-cost/) American teens send an unimaginable 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 examining over than 40,000 monthly US mobile phone bills, Nielsen determined that American teens sent an average of an incredible 3,146 text messages each month during Q3 2009.
Their younger counterparts ages 9-12 years old sent about 1,100 texts every month. That equates to four per hour they were in school or not sleeping. In comparison, the average number of monthly texts sent by all mobile users combined was a little more than five hundred. In the fourth quarter 2009, tweenage users from age 9 to 12 increased text usage by 8% and almost doubled their text message volume.
Focus group findings show that sexting happens most often under one of three different scenarios: The first, sharing of images only between two romantic partners; the next, lists sharing between partners that are then shared outside the relationship; followed by, exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but where often one {party hopes to be}.
Teens were interviewed and gave Amanda Lenhart, Senior Research Specialist and author of the report numerous reasons surrounding 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 other people “… for their entertainment value, as a joke, or for fun.”
Teenagers also shared with researchers the pressure they feel to share these types of pictures. Not surprisingly the report revealed that teenagers that are intensive users of mobile phones are more likely to to be sent inappropriate images. For these teenagers, the phone has become such a common means for communication and content of all kinds that doing without it is unlikely.
The combination of risk-taking and sexual adventure during the teen years combined with routine 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 indicators that per user usage has peaked, Nielsen predicts that overall text message usage will grow as the heavy text messaging demographic 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 teenagers then you’re probably not surprised by the usage statistics. But chances are you’re also either in denial that your teenagers 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 be upset that all the texts their teens and tweens are sending will land them in the poorhouse, Nielsen analysis shows the average cost of a single text message is only about one penny. The real issue affecting families 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 complicated issue. Consequently, it is very hard to provide advice on how best to handle these situations. The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children policy talks about that there are four roles to every sexting case: the individual seen in the picture, someone who took the image, the distributor(s) of the picture, and the recipient(s) of the image. In some cases one person may assume more than one of these roles (e.g., a youth takes a sexually explicit picture, 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 suggests parents monitor cell phone use. A workable technological solution available for parents and guardians to discover what teenagers are doing~what’s going on with their kids} is mobile monitoring software.
Renowned rights lawyer Gloria Allred addressed the legal penalties of “sexting” that parents and teens may ignore:
Teens conducting “sexting” activities – those that exchange sexually inappropriate photos, are at risk of potential criminal charges for child pornography OR criminal use of a communication device, and in some states, face the exposure of having to register as a sex offender – a stigma that could haunt them the rest of their lives.
risk of criminal prosecution and the prospects of going to jail and/or probation, which will potentially remain on their criminal record for the indefinite future, they also face the prospect of the possibility of being required by the Court to register as sex offenders.~This label has [terrible~horrific] consequences for youth including [required~mandated] reporting of the sex offender in various public records and very burdensome notification requirements that the sex offender must comply with – which may remain with the sex offender for the rest of his/her life.}
Sexting might very well be illegal. Parents are responsible to stop it. Especially considering low cost solutions can be ordered online. A very good 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.
Follow this link if you are interested in Cell Phone Monitoring Software that works with with BlackBerry and Android Smartphones,. Visit this link for more information regarding the latest software for
Parental Monitoring of Mobile Phones .
Tags: cell phone monitoring, mobile phone monitoring, parental monitoring, sexting, texting