Jennifer walks quickly to her locker, and she nervously turns the knob of the lock until it clicks open. Jennifer opens the locker door to put away books from her last class. Suddenly, she lets out a blood curdling scream when she finds a dead rat and a note scrawled with “sluts are no better than dead rodents.” Jennifer runs out of the school crying as a passing group of female students laugh and hurl hurtful insults at her. Her once happy and normal life has been turned upside down. A few weeks ago Jennifer made a bad judgment call when she sent a topless cell phone photo of herself to a boy she liked. Almost overnight Jennifer’s half nude photo was showing up all over the internet for the whole world to see.
Based on a survey conducted by the Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Jennifer is one of the 39 percent of teens and young adults who are sending sexually explicit photos and text messages. Sexting is an alarming new trend where teenage flirting has graduated from note passing to naked photos being sent via cell phone cameras. Unfortunately, these photos often find their way onto the internet or passed on from email to email. Two teenagers have committed suicide over the past year because of relentless torments from classmates after their ex-boyfriends distributed nude photos of them on the internet and in school.
There are not only emotional repercussions from this provocative behavior, but there are also legal consequences that can shatter these young lives forever. Several students at a Northwest High School were suspended from their cheerleading team indefinitely for sending racy cell photos of themselves to other students. Other teens have been charged with possessing child pornography after posting naked pictures of their ex-girlfriends on the internet, and they may now face prison time.
The majority of cell phones on the market today include camera and video functionality making it extremely convenient for teens to produce inappropriate material with a touch of a button. A combination of immaturity, low self esteem and the peer pressure all can play a role in a moment of indiscretion that will end up in cyberspace forever. Media images of half naked celebrities have become the visual norm in today’s society, and teenagers are exposed to sex long before they reach puberty.
Parents need to be involved in their children’s lives and pay attention to any changes in behavior, in grades and in emotional well-being. A strong family unit and an open line of communication is crucial to help guide children to make the right decisions and hopefully prevent them from making destructive choices that may negatively impact their lives for a very long time.
Susan Fredricks is the general partner of http://www.stingergirlz.com. Her Company’s goal and vision is to empower women to protect themselves from predators and to stay safe. Stingergirlz offers a wide variety of personal, travel and home protection devices as well as self defense training literature and videos. Visit http://www.stingergirlz.com today and protect yourself and your loved ones today.
