Parental supervision, ongoing communication vital to protecting children from sexting situations

Teens have a natural curiosity about sex. That curiosity combined with technology can lead teens to make poor choices with serious consequences. Increasingly one of those choices is sexting.

NetSmartz Workshop, a program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, defines sexting as “the exchange of sexually suggestive messages or images between minors via cell phone.” By some estimates, 40 percent of all high school students have sent or received a “sext” and 70 percent of teens admit to sexting with their boyfriend or girlfriend, according to TeenSafe, a smartphone monitoring service.

Often teens who are sexting do so within the context of a relationship, though sexting also can be a way to show interest in starting a romantic relationship, according to NetSmartz. While those who send the sexts may believe that the practice is safe from threats like pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, sexting does have its own set of risks, said Lisa Keane, clinical director for Pathways Professional Counseling, a ministry of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries.

Need for acceptance

“It would seem that many teens find sexting to be perfectly harmless. To them, it seems like a way to fulfill their need for acceptance or to feel attractive, which keeps them from thinking through all the negative outcomes that are possible,” Keane said.

Legal consequences are one possible outcome of sexting, said Anniston attorney Jennifer Weems, who prosecuted sex crimes as an assistant district attorney in Calhoun County. Alabama does not have laws that address sexting, which means that sexting, specifically sending or receiving nude photos, can be prosecuted under child pornography laws.

“Child pornography involves anyone under 17. There’s no age requirement for the perpetrator, so technically a child could produce child pornography of themselves,” Weems said.

In most situations when law enforcement gets involved, officials will meet with the teens and their parents and talk to them about the potential ramifications of their actions, Weems said. Some cases are prosecuted, often in juvenile court, but even those cases can have long-term consequences.

“A child pornography conviction, regardless of the perpetrator’s age, may require registration as a sex offender,” Weems said, which would negatively affect college admissions, job opportunities and the individual’s general reputation in the community.

There are significant emotional consequences as well, Keane said. A teen may think the photo they sent will be kept private, but that’s often not the case. Regardless of intent, once someone sends an image, he or she loses control of what happens with that photo.

“Sexting leaves teens vulnerable to images or messages being shared with anyone. They ultimately give away all their power, and it can dramatically alter a life if it gets in the wrong hands,” Keane said.

Those “wrong hands” sometimes are in the porn industry, Weems said.

Child pornography

“There is a child pornography industry out there and predators who are scanning Facebook and the World Wide Web looking for underage pictures. The worst-case scenario is that your child takes a nude picture of herself, puts it where someone else can get it and that photo is sold into that industry,” Weems said.

NetSmartz warns parents and teens to be especially vigilant for adult predators who attempt to coerce or blackmail young people into sending sexually explicit images of themselves. Such cases are not sexting and should be reported to law enforcement immediately.

For all these reasons, parents should discuss responsible smartphone use with their children as soon as they start using a cell phone. That discussion should be ongoing and should include frank discussions about sexting and its consequences, Keane said.

“For a teen’s protection, it is vital that parents are continually dialoguing with them about how their actions today can dramatically alter their future,” Keane said.

She suggests that parents specifically ask their kids if anyone has ever asked them to engage in inappropriate messaging. Questions open the door for conversations, and regular conversations will lessen parental anxiety surrounding the discussion.

Parents also can use technology to keep their teens safer. Several companies offer monitoring and parental control apps to help parents keep a watch on children’s online activities. Some focus primarily on internet searches, but others allow parents to track their kids’ texting and social media activity, including to whom texts are sent and the content of texts and posts.

A parent’s duty

Ultimately protecting kids from the dangers of sexting requires parental supervision and ongoing communication, Keane said. Technology is not going away and parents have a duty to teach children how to use it responsibly.

“You can’t expect a one-time conversation will be effective for the long haul. Our teens need to hear the risks, but they also need to know they can always come to you if they are ever tempted or asked to engage in this behavior,” Keane said.