A recently published study from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy indicates that over 20% of teens (ages 13-19) and an incredible 33% of young adults (ages 20-26) have shared nude or semi-nude images of themselves either over cell phone text messaging or by posting on the web. Teenage girls are a little 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 studies from The Nielsen Company and the Pew Research Center show a handful of factors that should be causing concern for parents and guardians. These problems are also an opportunity for software solutions companies. There is a rise in the percentage of teens that own cellular phones, the amount of texting they do, and more troubling the number of teens that are occupied with “sexting” – the sending of potentially illegal images or text messages from cell phones.
What’s the fuss? Just innocent fun, youth exploring their new sexuality?
Think again. Sending a sexually explicit image of a child 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, convictions can trigger a restriction of school activities, such as sports, denial of college admission, and denial of student loan eligibility, and losing jobs. A felony conviction can also affect future employment opportunities, including law enforcement and other high-security clearance positions. In other words, they’re ruining their lives over a little “innocent” fun.
There is very little that is innocent about it. {Keep in mind|Consider} that if a young teen sends a sexting photo of themselves – they could be breaking child pornography statues in most states.
A conviction in criminal 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 criminal court may order the forfeiture and destruction of the computer or digital devices used.
As sending SMS text messages from cell phones has become a focus in youth social life, parents, educators and advocates have grown increasingly alarmed about the role of cellular phones in the sexual lives of teens. A new survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project (pewinternet.org/topics/Teens.aspx) found that 4% of cell phone using young people ages 12-17 indicate they have transmitted sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images or videos of themselves to other people using text messaging. This activity is typically referred to “sexting” in the current slang. Furthermore, fifteen percent say they have received these kinds of images images of someone they already know by way of 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 young people transmit an unbelievable average of ten SMS messagesSMS texts per hour that they are not in school or sleeping – and most likely a lot during school too!
By evaluating more than 40,000 monthly US mobile mobile bills, Nielsen concluded that American teens sent an average of an astounding 3,146 texts each month during Q3 2009.
Their younger counterparts – tweenagers – from age 9 to 12 sent an average of 1,146 texts every month. That equates to four every hour they were in school or not sleeping. In comparison, the average number of monthly texts sent by all cellular users collectively was just slightly above five hundred. In the fourth quarter 2009, tweenage users ages 9-12 years old increased text usage by 8% just about doubling the quantity of text messages.
Pew Research points out that sexting occurs most often under one of three different scenarios: The first, exchanges of images solely between two romantic partners;
the next, lists exchanges between partners that are then shared outside the relationship; followed by, exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but with one person hoping there will be one hopes to be}.
Teenagers were interviewed and gave researchers various reasons behind the motivation 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 starting or maintaining a relationship. Sensitive pictures are also passed along to other people “… for their entertainment value, as a joke, or for fun.”
Teens also described to researchers the peer pressure to share these types of images. Not surprisingly the report also reveals that teens that are intensive users of cellular phones are more likely to to be sent sexually suggestive images. For these teenagers, the phone has become such a common means for communication and a variety of content that doing without it is nearly unthinkable.
The combination of risk-taking and sexual exploration during the teenage years mixed with regular connection using cellular 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, Nielsen estimates that overall text messaging usage will increase 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 will continue to text extensively and as tweenagers age they will increase usage. The number of text messages sent per capita has grown every year and should continue.
If you’ve got children then in all likelihood not shocked by the usage numbers. But chances are you’re also either in denial that your teens 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 just one cent. The real issue affecting families is not so much how often teens use their phones but has more to do with how they use their phones, and when they are using them.
Sexting is an extremely complicated topic. Consequently, it is very difficult to provide guidance 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 person seen in the picture, 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 youth 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 think about the intent and motivation of each of the parties under different circumstances.
The National Center For Missing & Exploited Children advocates parents monitor cell phone use. A workable technological solution available for parents and guardians to find out what their {children are doing~what’s going on with their children} is mobile monitoring technology.
Sexting can be against the law. Parents are responsible to do something about it. Especially when low cost solutions can be ordered online. 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.
Follow this link if you are interested in Mobile Monitoring Software that is compatible with BlackBerry and Android Smartphones,. Visit this link for more information regarding the latest software for
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