Warning for parents – Sexting is out of control
There are so many ramifications of all the new technologies that society has yet to really come to grips with. One example is the lack of agreed upon etiquette for the use of cell-phones in public places, with many people feeling free to impose their personal conversations on others during their commute, at restaurants, in cinemas and even church services. Gadgets such as Blackberries, IPODs, laptops, and mobiles can be a great blessing, but also a curse when not used considerately.
Mobile phones also have a number of extra features, such as cameras and video recorders, both of which are now commonly cold-heartedly used by participants to record assaults or rapes then posted to YouTube, as well being used in a positive manner such as reporting newsworthy happenings directly to media outlets by responsible members of the public. The technology itself is neutral, and can be used for good or evil.
Another capability of mobile phones is sending photographs directly to others’ phones or computers, and ‘texting’, which is writing a message to another phone or computer. Many cases of young people using these methods to bully other young people, or to distribute incriminating photos, have been reported. The term “sexting” has been coined to describe the content of these messages exchanged by mobile phone.
The NSW Department of Community Services has had so many of these cases reported to them that they are now alerting the media and the community to be more aware of what is occurring. They are urging all parents to keep a watchful eye on how their children are using their mobile phones, PCs and laptop computers, and checking the content of their social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and YouTube, especially any photo galleries or video clips.
Sexually explicit texts or images sent out on phones or computers can easily be uploaded by friend or foe to the internet and posted for all the world to see; there is no way to remove them no matter how offensive, upsetting or embarrassing they prove to be.
People have to be much more thoughtful about what they send to each other in this manner, and impulsive teenagers are not noted for thinking about long term consequences. Cases of girls and young women sending risqué photos of themselves to a boy they only want to flirt with have found that their photos are turning up on the Internet. This happens so frequently now as to be a cliché. The girls may think they are doing something playful in private, between themselves and a boy they like, and simply do not foresee this happening to them.
Compromising photos can also be posted to the web by other people with sinister motives (such as rivals for male attention), so it is best to encourage a sense of self-protection and modesty in young people with cameras, video recorders, and mobile phones, however old-fashioned that sounds. Warn your children about sexual predators in cyberspace. Explain the potential consequences of their actions, which may even affect future employment or relationships. Because, as DOCS urges all of us to realise, there is no such thing as ‘safe sex-ting’!
For further help or information please contact the 24 hour Parent Line 1300 1300 52, www.schools.nsw.edu.au/click, or www.community.nsw.gov.au