Sext Education

Remember the thrill of losing your virginity as a teenager?

This sexual awakening is now combining with the Internet to create a medley of unique experiences for the 21st century teen, one of which is, unfortunately, sexting.

Sexting, literally the combination of the words, “sex” and “texting,” is “the slang term for the use of a cell phone or other similar electronic device to distribute pictures or video of sexually explicit images.”

It can also refer to text messages of a “sexually charged nature,” according to one teen health Web site.

Sounds like there’s no harm, right? There usually aren’t any legal ramifications; however, it’s a much more sinister story when one or both of the participants are minors.

The creation, possession and distribution of sexts usually violates child pornography laws. If convicted of these felonies, violators can be registered as sex offenders, the effects of which can last for life. These severe repercussions serve as strong deterrents to dissuade sexting and to highlight the extreme harm it can cause.

Sexting is a wide-scale problem, with 20 percent of teens having sent nude or semi-nude photographs of themselves electronically and 39 percent of teens having sent sexually explicit text messages, according to Cosmogirl.com.

Its effects have caused extreme trauma and harm. Since sexting rests on the fringe of the increasingly blurring line between the public and private sphere, mental health is negatively affected.

“12 percent of sexters have considered ending their own lives in the past year compared to 3 percent of people who have not been bullied or have not sexted,” states the 2009 AP-MTV Digital Abuse Study.

These mental health tragedies have rocked national news headlines, with 13-year-old Jessie Logan’s case receiving serious scrutiny. Logan took and sent naked pictures of herself to her boyfriend, who sent the pictures to other girls once the couple broke up. Logan was increasingly ridiculed and emotionally tortured by the girls, until she took her own life.  Logan’s story serves as a warning and catalyst for legislators and authorities to take action to stop sexting. More and more child pornography charges are being brought against teen violators.

However, a blind law, which sees no age or intent, might have a chilling effect on intimate communication. States should follow Vermont, which introduced a bill last year that would allow two people 13 to 18 years old to consensually exchange graphic images. Further distribution of these images would be a crime.

This way romance would be allowed to survive and maybe even triumph in the face of the digital age.


E-mail: yzchaudh@indiana.edu