There has been a lot written lately about the new phenomenon known as sexting . For parents and other adults these media moral panics can be scary and confusing. So it is important to first understand exactly what sexting is? Sexting is defined as to trade images with dirty messages, video swaps, nude or sexually explicit photos, often in reference to teenagers.
In essence, it is the act of sending nude or semi-nude pictures (or videos) of yourself over your phone. For young people (teens) it creates all sorts of problems. Sending "inappropriate" pictures of children to another is an offence but with sexting what tends to happen is one party (normally the girl) sends a picture that she believes is private to her boyfriend who in turn shares the photos with all his and her friends and before the girl knows it, she is the latest unwilling porn star of the school. It obviously shows that the emotional stress, not to mention the embarrassment this causes to all concerned is irreparable.
While there are some cases of girls who willingly allow their pictures to be taken and passed around, many times the girls involved are unwilling participants in this trend. It is crucial that parents inform themselves of this and work with both their teen boys and girls to help them understand the ramifications of sexting. Some of the things parents can do are:
When a sexting incident hits the news, talk to your child, ask her what her thoughts on sexting are. Would she ever do it and under what circumstances? What does she think the real consequences could be? You may be surprised at your teen's answers.
- It is crucial to have conversations with your daughter about trust and what it really means to trust someone else especially in The Home of Filthy Sexting Pics. The same with respect; how do sexting and respect go together, if at all? While boys are also involved in sexting, studies show that girls are far more trusting and more likely to be coerced into this type of behavior.
- Since girls tend to be victimized more often in sexting it can help to increase her own self-worth and self esteem by picking out her good qualities, for example, telling her that you appreciate her kindness rather than thanking her for helping her sister.
- Talk about sex; be open and honest about what is happening for teens today. Denying that this is happening or that your son or daughter will do right because they have been brought up properly will just not cut it nowadays.