So it had to happen - any technology can be used for positive or negative. Turns out the great freedom that cell phones give each user, also allows teens to send nude pictures of themselves to each other, mainly girls to guys ...
"Some teens send the graphic photos of themselves to boyfriends, and some teens send them to prospective boyfriends or girlfriends in a graphic update of the old calling card. Either way, the images might meet the legal definition of child pornography, and the trend is raising moral and legal dilemmas along with a heavy dose of good old-fashioned shock."
While this isn't a shock, just an unwelcome surprise, the legal ramifications are severe and largely uncharted. (I've even heard second-hand that this has been an issue at some of our youth camps, though I can't verify that.)
What's most interesting to me is a teenager commented on this story (at the bottom of the article) proclaiming:
"EVERYONE NEEDS TO STOP BEING SO PARANOID ABOUT THIS.
First, PLEASE stop calling it ''sexting''. No one uses that word. It's dumb. Second, guys don't pressure girls into sending nude pictures. EVER. They always ALWAYS ask (if they ask at all) "wanna send me some pix" and it is completely the girl's decision whether she will or not, and then if she does she can always just send a picture of her face. I was asked just the other day for these pictures, and I told him my camera was broken. He kept pushing, so I sent a picture of my face. He called me "stunning" and then proceeded to send me two pictures of himself with his shirt off without me saying anything! It was, needless to say, disgusting."
So, is this our sex-crazed media latching onto a story of a few sex-crazed deviants and blowing it out of proportion, or is this the unveiling of a persistent problem that will always be with us?
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sexting Anyone?
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6 comments:
Hate to say this, but this is HUGE. Just like an iceberg; what you see protruding from the surface pales in comparison to what lurks beneath the surface.
I work for juvenile probation in my area. I am directly involved in the arrest and search portions of this department. Probable cause searches many times warrant a search of the cell-phone contents (i.e., gang conditions, drug sales, theft, etc), but most of the time the minor's consent to having it looked at anyway.
If I told you what I see--nearly every time--you'd be amazed--and disgusted.
Of course, it'd be easy to dismiss this as the hijinks of "at-risk" youth and keep it in that bubble.
That's also what we technically call "a mistake."
Technology isn't sin, but the days where one had to work at their sin, either by serruptitiously patronizing an adult bookstore in their town in the dead of night, or looking at their uncle's PlayBoy magazines when he's not home--are over.
Hormones are the same. The conveyor belt of opportunity is different.
-R
I have found that teens are notoriously tight-lipped about their activities, or the activities of their friends, when they cross the bounds of propriety. They are loyal to each other first, in many cases. If you could get them to talk candidly, it would be interesting to see their response to this post. One young woman, who was brought up in a strict apostolic church, once told me that probably not more than three girls in her youth group would come to marriage a virgin. She said as long as they didn’t cut their hair, and wore skirts and dresses, they flew “under the radar screen” of the church leadership.
I once asked a man whose girlfriend had become pregnant (both were in an apostolic church) how this had happened when he had claimed to the pastor that he was keeping “their relationship pure.” His answer was, “I lied.”
P.S. Could someone explain to me what the term “friends with benefits” means? I heard this term a few years ago from a young 20-something apostolic, but I haven’t heard it recently. It’s hard for us older folks to keep up with all the slang terminology.
"Friends with benefits:"
Unlimited sexual liasons with a pre-arranged stipulation of no commitment.
-R
"So, is this our sex-crazed media latching onto a story of a few sex-crazed deviants and blowing it out of proportion, or is this the unveiling of a persistent problem that will always be with us?"
Checkout the following link in which sexting plays a large role:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090205/ap_on_re_us/facebook_sex
Honestly, I am surprised this post is not getting more comments. What do our young people have to say about this? Is this a problem in your church? Your youth camp? Your school? With your friends? Maybe you’ve never heard about it until now?
For some reason the link I gave did not display fully. I think it works, but in case you’re having trouble I will attach the link to the title “article” above, and that should pull it up.
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