Posted by admin on April 16th, 2009 in Hot Topics, Internet Resources, Internet Use, Parenting, Technology

Did you know your teenager can be arrested on child pornography charges for sexting (the practice of sending nude or seminude pictures via cellphone or posting them online)?  Did you know that one in five teenagers admits to having posted or has sent a nude or semi-nude picture of themselves (according to a survey by wiredsafety.org).  Did you know that 44% of teen boys say they have seen at least one naked picture of a female classmate?  Sexting is treated as child pornography in almost every state and it catches teens off-guard because it seems like a “normal” thing to do.  It is surprising to parents, but for teens – it’s part of their culture.

Juvenile Sex Offenders

In many states,  if a person is convicted of a crime against children, it automatically triggers registration to the sex offender registry.  Thirty-eight states include juvenile sex offenders in their sex offender registries. Alaska, Florida and Maine will register juveniles only if they are tried as adults.  Indiana registers juveniles age 14 and older.   South Dakota registers juveniles age 15 and older. Most states allow public access to sex offender registries via the Internet and anyone with a computer can locate registered sex offenders in their neighborhoods.  Prosecutors in states including Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin have tried to stop sexting by charging teens who send and receive the pictures.  In northeastern Pennsylvania, a prosecutor recently threatened to file child porn charges against three teenage girls who authorities say took racy cell-phone pictures that ended up on classmates’ cell phones.  A number of states have elected not to provide Internet access to registries; Florida is not one of them.And, there is no hiding for teens who have  sex offender status.  As one teen said, “I am a sex offender. If you type my name into the search engine online, you will find me.”

Vermont Takes the Lead

Text messaging graphic pictures of yourself could soon be legal for teens in Vermont.   Lawmakers  are considering a bill that would make it legal for teenagers 18 and under to exchange explicit photos and videos of themselves.   Under the current law, teenagers are prosecuted as sex offenders if they get caught sexting.  A state House committee will hear more testimony on it later this week.

The new Vermont law is the right approach say critics who have long said that child pornography laws on the possession or dissemination of graphic images were never meant to apply to teen sexting and that these teenagers usually have no criminal intent when they send pictures to each other.  Sending seminude pictures is “stupid, careless, naive, poor judgment – all of the things that teenagers are and it could have really bad consequences for the future. But is it criminal and is it child pornography?” asks Witold Walczak, legal director of the ACLU in Pennsylvania. “These photos are not child pornography by production or by content – the Supreme Court has repeatedly said the definition of pornography is much narrower than just nudity.”

New York City student Stefanie Garcia is only in high school, and says sexting happens all the time.  “Girls in underwear, guys completely naked, muscle pictures, stuff like that,” Garcia told a local news station.  Actress Vanessa Hudgens was embarrassed when nude pictures meant for her boyfriend, ended up online. Last year, Jessica Logan, a Cincinnati, Ohio, teen, hanged herself after her nude photo, meant for her boyfriend, was sent to teenagers at several high schools.

Karen Salmansohn is an expert on talking with teenagers about smart choices. She writes books to empower girls, and says parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of sexting — using their language.  “Don’t talk to them in language saying this is right this is wrong. That’s not going to get to a kid,” Salmansohn said.  ” You have to use the language of cool because that’s why they’re doing it.”   According to one teen, “sexting is like paparazzi for teenagers” and it’s not just nude pictures that are being sent.  They take pictures of people using drugs, people being drunk or doing other illegal activities.  Once the embarrassing pictures goes out, there’s no way to get it off the Internet, and could affect their college and future job opportunities when recruiters search the Web.  They’re also up for grabs for sexual predators.

This is an ever-changing subject. As parents it’s like walking on quick-sand; how to keep our kids safe while using the latest technology and making sure the consequences of irrational teen behavior don’t land them in jail.