Skip to main content

High School Teen Sexting


If you want to know the end, look at the beginning. –African proverb


            Today’s challenge to youthful sexual exuberance is intertwined with an ever-present android or smart phone, pads or other similar electronic devices that can serve as instruments with the ability to convey images that could haunt a teenager for the rest of her or his life.  Sexting, or sex texting, “is basically sending, receiving, or forwarding sexual photos or sexually suggestive messages through text message or email”  (Lohmann, 2013).  High school teenage sexting is a tragic event that can lead to dire consequences, often, for the too willing participants.  Hormones and angst are natural conditions teens have experienced for generations. Electronic devices and cyberspace, however, have created a new dimension for teens to explore their relationships and sexuality.  Teenage sexting is illegal.

In 2012, PEW provided some interesting statistics about teens and social media.
91% post a photo of themselves, up from 79% in 2006.
71% post their school name, up from 49%.
71% post the city or town where they live, up from 61%.
92% post their real name to the profile they use most often.
82% post their birth date.
62% post their relationship status.
24% post videos of themselves.  (Pew, 2012).

The statistics suggest that teenagers not only spend a great deal of time in cyberspace but they are sharing personal information.  It also becomes a place where young folk can begin to explore their sexual or romantic behaviors.  Unable to decipher the difference between romance and sexual desire some young women become victims of sexting in an attempt to please persuasive partners. 
             “Nearly 40% of all teenagers have posted or sent sexually suggestive messages, but this practice is more common among boys than girls.  Sending semi-nude or nude photos is more common among teen girls.  22% of teen girls report sending images of this nature, while only 18% of same-aged boys have” (11 Facts About Sexting). 

Warning! Warning!  Some Painful Outcomes of Teen Sexting
  • ·      Many young folk are probably unaware that, as stated previously, sexting is pornography and against the law in many places in the United States.     
  • ·      Once its’ creator has sent the image(s) s/he has no control over its distribution.
  • ·      Likewise it is dangerous to have such images saved on electronic devices that can be hacked, stolen or borrowed.
  • ·      By the way, the peak age of sexting is around 16 and 17, according to researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, a brief period when some young folk fall in and out of love several times.
  • ·      Images are easily circulated in cyberspace.
  • ·      Undoubtedly such images will cause immediate trauma; and unforeseen problems in the future, as the pictures can last in perpetuity.
  • ·      Before sexting, remember relationships often break-up and former partners may not be as kind and considerate as in the beginning.  Some folk want revenge or are just bullies. 

If you want to know the end… an individual whom respects and loves another individual wouldn’t want the possibility of a loved one's intimate photos available for all eyes 24-7 in cyberspace.
Respect yourselves…S4S

Some Sources
PEW Research Internet Project/Teen Fact Sheet
11 Facts About Sexting   http://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-sexting

Lohmann, Raychelle Cassada, M.S., L.P.C. “Teen Sexting- The Real Issue,” Psychology Today.  7 April 2013.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lavinia Bell, A Story to Pass On (Part 1)

Born in Washington DC   / Enslaved in Texas   /   Interviewed in Canada 1861 I was going over newspaper and magazine interviews, 1827-1863 in collection edited by John W. Blassingame.   Lavinia Bell’s story is particularly touching in her determination to be free at all costs yet disturbing in the raw violence to which she was subjected.   Born free in Washington she was stolen as an infant and enslaved in Galveston, Texas.   As the property of William Whirl, his wife, Polly, taught Lavinia to be a performer, “taught to dance, sing, cackle like a hen, or crow like a rooster…”   About the age of 13 or 14, she was sent to the cotton field an exposed to a different level of bondage. In the Galveston, Texas cotton field the Whirl's laboring slaves were exposed to the relentless sun naked, their hair shaved close to their heads, and receiving fifty lashes daily, whether they worked or not.   Bell reported that “they were also compelle...
1 comment
Read more

50 Years Ago Today Malcolm X was Assassinated

2/21     The assassination of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, better known as Malcolm X occurred 50 years ago today, on a Sunday, February 21, 1965 at New York City’s Audubon Ballroom.   Professor Peniel E. Joseph concludes, in his article, titled “50 Years After His Assassination, Malcolm X’s Message Still Calls Us to Seek Justice,” that “… the struggle for black liberation continues with nationwide protests that recall the tumultuous 1960s, when Malcolm’s message of uncompromising struggle frightened white and black political leaders alike.   Today’s rising activists, who boldly demand an end to racial and economic injustice beyond token political reforms, are channeling the best part of Malcolm’s legacy—one that, even in the face of death, cries out for justice by any means necessary.”   This would be a great time to do further exploration on Malcolm and his message for yourself.   Begin with “Malcolm X’s Advice to the Youth”.   ( www.the...
2 comments
Read more

Sisters' Action Network Fall 2017 Upcoming Webinar Series

Post a Comment
Read more