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Publisher's Point

POSTED:Tue, May 5, 2009 @ 3:30PM

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Ok Discobulous, don’t call my sister. I am, once again, shaking my head. This time it is over sexting. Now, when I am shaking my head it is not to be judgmental. It is truly that I just don’t get it, A new survey recently released from the nation's leading tween girl marketing consultancy and research company, AK Tweens, shows an alarming trend among tween girls -- sexting. Believed by most experts and parents to be a "teen" only problem, the survey revealed that 30% of tween girls -- many as young as 10 years old -- are "sexting" -- sending, receiving and/or posting sexy messages/photos (e.g. photos of themselves in their underwear, or without clothes, messages of a sexual or suggestive nature) online and via cell phones. Vermont is proposing an exemption from criminal charges for people ages 13-18 whom sext consensually. But some understandably disagree with the proposal. My question to you, is what do you think? Should there be an exemption? If you are going to answer, do it seriously. This is a serious issue that can affect the lives of young people for years to come. It’s interesting that two of the words in this blog never even existed a few years ago. Sexting and tween!

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View Comments: | 1-25 |26-49 | Post a comment

oldskool
05-21-09 10:13 AM »Report Abuse	However shooting video or taking photos of the "event" and showing friends - that should be the "line". But, again, digital camera are so cheap now and everyone has some sort of access to email or other form of sending the images kids may not get that taking a picture of anything, doing anything, is wrong. I don't think we need to toss these kids in jail and put a scarlet letter(s) on their forhead. Educaiton is key and there is a world of differnce bewteen a perosn who knowingly created cp and distibutes it and a 10 year old who thinks it is funny to take a picture of their friend on the toliet. (Which brings up the question of what "is" going to be considered in these cases as an offensible action? Someone under the age of 18 on the toliet? Drinking? Smoking? Doing drugs? In a bathing suite? In underwear? A buttcheek? side boob? side*****in a bathing suit on a public beach?
oldskool
05-21-09 10:02 AM »Report Abuse	Oh - and the direct answer to the quesiton abut VT and the "exemption from criminal charges for people ages 13-18 whom sext consensually" I think, within reason, this ia logical and very acceptbale. For the reasons I already gave. For those who disagree - as I suggested - forget abotht using a cell phone and digital cameras for a moment. How would you have felt if a teacher pulled a note from your hands that you had gotten from, or were about to give to, your bf/gf when you were in 9th grade and suddenly you got labeled a sex offender? How about the entire footable team being labeled as sex offenders because there was locker room talk about one of the cheerleaders being "easy"? Don't forget the "classic" boys room words of "for a good time call..." Bragging to friends that was common for many but now, because they text "glln!" or even "bbbjcim!!", it is wrong and should be a criminal offense?
Discobulous
05-21-09 9:57 AM »Report Abuse	All this shocking electronic depravity sure makes me wish I was back in high school.
oldskool
05-21-09 9:41 AM »Report Abuse	e "suggestive" outfits kids have on. Why is more "shocking" that a 14 year old taks a self photo in her underwear but not so schocking when that same 14 year old goes to the beach in a thong and a top that shows more than the the "Banned" tube tops were in the 70's? As I see that the LH censors names of certian drugs let me try it this way - H is in use. The amount of kids living in the oc is higher than most "adults" care to admit yet are "shocked" when they "learn" of it. The fact most parents fall out of the pcrs category so it is not too shocking that the kids say phq to them, the same way most of us did - except not via texting. The bottom line - Now kids text via their cell phones and say "pnhlgd" while we used to slip a handwritten note saying "My parents aren't gonna be home tonight, wanna come over?" Shocking? Hardly.
oldskool
05-21-09 9:22 AM »Report Abuse	digital age is all. I am not saying that a 10 year old should be taking nude photos and sending them to other people, kids or not, but It is naive to feel that the concept of "sexting" is new. It is even more naive to feel that kids never talk about, or have, sex no matter what the method. This is the same mentality that, when I was in school, said "Pot? Oh there are no kids smoking pot in our school" and, now, "****? Oh there are no kids using **** in our school". Also the same mentality that, for at least the last 10 years, has been going "Gangs? There is no gang activity around here". This stuff exists - fulton county has never been exempt from it. Sexting has existed for years in other ways - chat rooms, ICQ, IM's and email - and before that slipping notes into lockers and talking on a phone. What has gotten easier is the abilty to see the "naughty bits". On the other hand take a trip to the beach or to a pool and see all th
oldskool
05-21-09 9:10 AM »Report Abuse	Did anyone who posted here, including our most beloved Publisher, ever attend a real school? Cut out the cell phone for a moment - you mean not one of you ever wrote notes to your gf/bf in school? None of you ever "made out" while still under the age of 21/18? Not one of you ever were part of, or heard, locker room talk while in school? None of you were jocks or cheerleaders and bragged about who you "did" after the game? Ever GF I have ever had, including my wife, all were sexuually active in their teens. I look back at when I was 17 and was going out with a 14 year old. My parents were lecturing me on how it was wrong and how if I was doing "anything" (When I was a kid parents did not use the "s" word - LOL!!) I could be arrested and get her pregnant. What they did not know is that she had been active since she was 12 and actually taught me a few things. "...the girls didnt act that way 20 years ago" indeed! We did not live in the
ipaymyway
05-14-09 12:31 PM »Report Abuse	i raise my son alone and let me tell you that the girls didnt act that way 20 years ago. zero self respect. i just told him if you get junk do not forward . if i catch him ill snap his phone in half.
LoyalSocialist
05-13-09 2:32 PM »Report Abuse	most cells come with cameras now, its pretty much unavoidable, but as far as "sexting" goes, a parent can block data, i.e: pic messages, website browsing, and downloads by just asking their provider to remove it from the plan. The parent needs to be the one monitoring their bill every month because it shows what activity the phone has done on the bill itself.
Discobulous
05-09-09 8:40 PM »Report Abuse	Speaking of forbidden fruit, have you noticed the price of bananas lately? It's nothing to monkey with.
morningstar
05-09-09 3:32 PM »Report Abuse	As adults, most of us know that anything we put on paper, on the Internet, or otherwise, can be used against us in some way. If we teach our tweens & teens this same lesson, it becomes up to them to listen or pay the consequenses just like with any teen social "forbidden fruit." I do agree that an age limit on the label may help soften the current severity of those consequenses until the laws catch up to technology. My 16-year old daughter has a fancy cell phone that she pays for. Hard to tell her she can't have it, but we can teach her about what can happen if she misuses it.
Discobulous
05-08-09 9:30 AM »Report Abuse	If we could get cell phonse with built in tazers we could better defend our opinions. Shocking!
justicefirst
05-07-09 8:29 PM »Report Abuse	It's a sad state of affairs if the only fun a teen or kid has is a cell phone. Teebzz, you are correct in saying that parents (and I'll add teachers, child care workers, etc) should teach (and model)what is acceptable and decent. But there is no guarantee a child will do what his/her parents teach, preach, model. Acceptance by friends becomes a critical issue during teen years and can often override what parents have taught.
teebzz
05-07-09 3:32 PM »Report Abuse	kids want ALL the latest bells and whistles on their cellphones, for some it might be the only fun they have and of course , u are not cool if u just have a "phone" that doesnt do anything. restricting all the gadget stuff wont work. the answer is ( i know its easier said than done but..) teaching kids whats acceptable and whats decent at an early age by parents or others in a position to help them learn. but thats a whole new show. lol
Discobulous
05-07-09 10:13 AM »Report Abuse	What! Block nudity! I have read in a legitimate magazine that over the last 10 years there has been more than a 45% increase in 9-5 workers bring their lunches and eating them in front of their computers.....it ain't just kids, folks. Oops....time for an early lunch.
Discobulous
05-07-09 10:10 AM »Report Abuse	What! Block nudity! I have read in a legitimate magazine that over the last 10 years there has been more than a 45% increase in 9-5 workers bring their lunches and eating them in front of their computers.....it ain't just kids, folks. Oops....time for an early lunch.
justicefirst
05-06-09 9:04 PM »Report Abuse	Thanks for your back up Patriot1. And I agree with InnocentParty that kids need nothing more than a basic phone until they can pay for it themselves. However, the kids with the basic phones can always turn to the friend who has the one with all the bells and whistles and use it inappropriately. Where there is a will, there is always a way. While parents can try their best to watch, listen, monitor their kids, it is quite difficult to do so 24/7. Especially as they get older. I would think photo sharing can be blocked or no purchased, just as texting can. Kids are blasted daily with media images that confuse and confound them. They can easily arrive at the conclusion that unless they are sexy and make sure others think so, they are nothing.
Rowland
05-06-09 2:25 PM »Report Abuse	This is a harsh reality we all have to live with. Our teens, who can sometimes be more "stupid" than we like to admit, have no idea of the long term consequences of an act as simple as texting a "suggestive" photo of themselves to a friend, which in turn can be shared among "their" friends, and so on and so on. What can happen is that innocent youth who actually acted not so innocently can be slapped with a lifetime "sex offender" registration invitation. This should be changed to a Age 21 offender registration. This still implies serious consequences, but wipes the slate at Age 21. At least it is punishable, and age appropriate. In time, other changes can be made, but for right now, an age 21 change for the sex offender registry is the least "forever" of the consequences for these children who need to wake up.
Patriot1
05-06-09 1:10 PM »Report Abuse	"Justicefirst" has it right. Perhaps a technology can be developed which bars the texting of nudity.
InnocentParty
05-06-09 12:33 PM »Report Abuse	I agree with Disco except that in my youth Polaroids were bulky and didn't fit neatly in any of my purses. On a more serious side of it, perhaps tweens/teens should NOT have the more advanced cell phones that are capable of taking/sending pictures. I really see no reason for a tween/teen to have a cell phone other than emergency. In that case, mommy and daddy can get Johnny/Janie a basic cell phone without all the luxuries on it. It all comes back to parents knowing what, where, when, who with info about their children.
SaucyMama
05-06-09 9:06 AM »Report Abuse	I know in a lot of are schools, these pictures circulate around school like wildfire and can get kids into a lottt of trouble. Anyone who has pictures like that is treated like it's child po rnography, even if they're a kid themselves. I don't think law enforcement agencies ever really anticipated this, so the laws that the kids get slammed with can be harsh. Young people shouldn't send pictures like this, and if they do, there's a good chance that more people than just the intended recipient will see them. Ask any high school or even middle school student about instances when pictures or videos have gotten around school-they can tell you.
justicefirst
05-06-09 7:09 AM »Report Abuse	The age of technology has brought about many new and disturbing dangers. Morals seem to be fading rapidly. Even the best of parents see their children fall victim. While sexuality is a completely normal human entity, explicit and demoralizing images of either gender and shouldn't be confused with sexuality. It's sexual exploitation.
Discobulous
05-06-09 12:33 AM »Report Abuse	As a slightly older person, I feel envious and deprived and wish I was back in high school and didn't have to get by with hiding copies of Playboy under the bath tub. Electronics have definitely advanced and simplified the world of adolescent visual communications.
justicefirst
05-05-09 8:49 PM »Report Abuse	the word deleted starts with p, the middle is orn, and ends with ography.
justicefirst
05-05-09 8:48 PM »Report Abuse	Sexting by underage children appears to be a new type of child *********** and possibly harrassment, illegal at any age. Texting, sexting and instant messaging has gotten out of hand. It allows people to be act less human and things occur which would not if people talked face to face. Last time I checked, in NY, there is no such thing as "consensual" sexual activity until age 17. Laws need to keep up with the times and technology. Sexting isn't confidential...it can rapidly be passed from person to person and youngsters (and adults) may not know the law, the consequences and the dangers. And who's to say it's only teens/tweens. There are plenty of adults posing as youngsters out there.

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Publisher's Point

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Pat Beck