Sex is everywhere. Tiger Woods ultimately gave up his role model status for it, as did such notables as South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford and former Senator John Edwards. And kids are certainly no strangers to it, either. Just look at this recent USA Today headline, "Many Sex Offenders are Kids Themselves."
And is it any wonder? One look at such shows as Two and a Half Men tell the tale, as do ads for such products as Viagra, KY Intense, Victoria Secret, and Degree Ultra Clear deodorant. Meanwhile, next time you're listening to popular music, key in on the lyrics instead of just rocking to the heart-thumping, good-to-work-out-to beat. The words will stop you in your tracks.
So maybe it's not that surprising that sexting-sending sexually explicit electronic messages or photos--is now a trend among our children.
A recent National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com survey of 653 teens, ages 13 to 19, and 627 young adults, ranging in age from 20 to 26, makes it all glaringly clear:
• 22% of teen girls and 18% of teen boys said they've sent/posted nude or semi-nude photos or video of themselves; 13% of young teen girls, 13 to 16, said they had.
• 36% of young adult women and 31% of young adult men are sending/posting nude or semi-nude images of themselves.
• 37% of teen girls and 40% of teen boys are sending/posting sexually suggestive messages.
• 56% of young adult women and 62% of young adult men are sending/posting sexually suggestive messages.
Need more convincing that our collective worry gene should be in overdrive nowadays? Pew Research Center's Amanda Lenhart says these images constitute "relationship currency" that's shared as either part of or in lieu of actual sex. They're also used to start up or maintain a relationship with "someone special."
Equally troubling is that they don't remain a one-time-only deal. Instead such images are often passed along to others, sometimes for revenge or hurtfulness, sometimes as "entertainment" or even as a joke.
Meanwhile, most kids-and their parents, too-have no idea that in Pennsylvania, as in most other states, sending and receiving these images is considered child pornography--a felony, defined by law as a crime punishable by imprisonment for one or more years. Said law also labels participants as registered sex offenders, a brand that can last a very long time.
Two Pennsylvania cases stand out:
• In the Tunkhannock School District matter, District Attorney George Skumanick sent letters to parents indicating that the boys and girls involved had to enroll in a re-education program or risk being charged with a felony and accept six months probation. All of the parents of the children involved agreed, except for three. Two of their daughters were pictured in white, opaque bras; the third girl was wrapped from the waist down in a towel.
The ACLU has filed a lawsuit seeking a "declaratory ruling that the photos are protected speech, not obscenity, and to enjoin Skumanick's threats as a violation of parental rights."
• In the case at Greensburg Salem High School, three 14- and 15-year-old girls allegedly sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves to three 16- and 17-year-old boys via cell phone. Child pornography charges were filed against both the senders and the recipients.
Philadelphia attorney Patrick Artur called that "overkill." In the end, incarceration came off the table as did requiring the teens to register as sex offenders.
Not everyone is so fortunate. Take, for example, the 18-year-old Florida man who is now registered as a sex offender for the next 25 years, having sent nude pictures of his 16-year-old girlfriend to friends and family after an argument.
Pennsylvania State Senator Stewart Greenleaf believes a felongy charge is overkill, too, though, and is following the lead of such states as Vermont and Utah, which are already moving to change their laws when it comes to sexting.
In October, Greenleaf sent his Senate Bill 1121 to the Judiciary Committee-where it still remains. That bill would downgrade sexting to a summary offense, with offenders becoming "eligible for a diversionary program, which would include an educational component."
Remember, though: even if this bill becomes law in Pennsylvania, sexting is not child's play, nor are its legal, social, and emotional consequences.
So, whether you believe that sexting actually is a felony or just electronic streaking and flirting is pretty much beside the point. What really matters and should concern us all is that our children are sending revealing and provocative photos and messages online or via cell phone--and quite casually, with no view to the potential risks.
The time to talk with our kids is now.
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