The lowdown on sexting
Thirteen-year-old Hope Witsell liked a boy and wanted him to notice her. So she sent a topless photo of herself to his cell phone — and received more attention than she'd bargained for. After another girl grabbed hold of the phone, the X-rated image circulated throughout Hope’s Florida middle school.
Sexting may seem like old-fashioned flirting in a high-tech guise, but as Hope discovered, it can produce results far more dangerous than batting eyelashes ever did. First, Hope’s photo made her the target of bullying. Later, when the administration got involved, the photo became grounds for her suspension. Last September she hanged herself.
Tips on how to talk to your kids about sexting from the American Academy of Pediatrics
Tips on Internet safety for teens and parents from the National Crime Prevention Council
Hope was the second teen to commit suicide after a sexting incident. Jessica Logan, 18, of Cincinnati, Ohio, killed herself in July 2008 after her boyfriend forwarded explicit photos of her following the couple’s break-up.
Children trafficking children
Sexting has also fueled a new source of juvenile crime. Dozens of teens around the country have been arrested for sexting and charged with possession of child porn, a felony. After being convicted, one Orlando high school senior had to register as a sex offender, putting him on the same list as child molesters and rapists.
The images may look naughty — or even obscene — but experts say most of the teens sending them aren’t. According to Russell Sabella, a professor of school counseling who specializes in tech issues at Florida Gulf Coast University, kids who engage in sexting are simply naïve about the power of technology.
“They don’t realize how easy it is to lose control of information and data when it leaves their gadget,” he says. “It [starts out as] a social thing, but it can quickly come back to hurt them.”
Sexting statistics
As many as one in five teens have sent sexually suggestive photos of themselves to someone else, and a third have received such images, according to a study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. About 22% of the 653 teens surveyed said that technology made them feel more forward and aggressive.
Another study suggests that the numbers of teens who are sexting is much lower but that older kids are far more involved. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 15% of the 800 teens polled said they had received explicit images, and 4% had sent them. But 17-year-olds were twice as likely to engage in sexting, compared to 12-year-olds. Girls were just as likely to be involved as boys. In focus groups, teens told researchers that sexting is used to experiment with sexuality or as part of a sexual relationship.
