REESHA BROWN
The days of passing notes back and forth in class are over, a new fad called “sexting,” sending explicit photos electronically via cell phones, has kindled a fearful alarm among local officials and parents for Port Arthur’s young.
Cell phone technology has greatly advanced to the point where individuals can take and send pictures from one wireless communication device to another. Some teenagers have used this call phone’s photo feature to send sexually explicit text messages, including photographs, to other cell phone users.
Called sexting, what is seen as a fad for teens is a foe for local officials and parents who view this craze as dangerous and inappropriate behavior.
Officials worry that text messages will end up on the World Wide Web and in the hands of those who prey on young, vulnerable individuals.
When a teenager utilizes this feature to send sext messages, there are many dangers involved that teens should consider, Major Raymond Clark with Port Arthur Police Department, said.
“You might have sexual predators out there that could end up with this picture and who knows what might happen from there,” Clark said.
Prohibiting sexting
Several states have adopted legislation to define and prohibit sexting, including Vermont, Colorado and Massachusetts. Others are still in the process of determining if teenage sexting should be considered a crime.
Clark said sexting is a terminology - not yet a Texas law from what he knows right now.
Since sexting is a fairly new trend among teenagers, Clark said it would probably take a long time for legislators to pass a law prohibiting teens from the risky practice.
“But parents can prevent their children from sexting,” Clark said. “What would help is if parents sit down with them ... to help them stay within the boundaries.”
There is no law prohibiting sexting between consenting adults, but when images of juveniles are involved, other laws come into play.
“You have juveniles doing things they should not be doing,” Clark said. Sexting that takes place between two children, under the age of 18 or an adult and someone under the age of 18 is child pornography, said Clark, and that is illegal.
Adults who send sexually explicit photographs to children under the age of 18 are sexual offenders, and will face legal ramifications for those actions, Clark said.
Statistics support sexing popularity
A 2008 survey conducted by the National Campaign, an organization dedicated to preventing teenage unplanned pregnancies, polled 653 teens ages 13-19 to find out how many teens have posted nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves online or in text messages.
• 20 percent of teenagers overall
• 22 percent of teen girls
• 18 percent of teen boys
• 11 percent of young teen girls (ages 13-16)
Sexually suggestive messages (text, e-mail, instant messages) are even more prevalent than sexually suggestive images in the teenage community.
• 39 percent of all teens have sent sexually suggestive messages
• 37 percent are teen girls
• 40 percent, teen boys
• 48 percent of teens said they received such messages
According to the National Campaign, most teens and young adults who send suggestive content to boyfriends and girlfriends are sending such material to those they want to have sexual relations with or people they know online.
• 71 percent of teen females and 67 percent of teen males who have sent or posted sexually suggestive content said they sent it to a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• 21 percent of teen females and 39 percent of teen males said they sent such content to someone they wanted to date or have sexual relations with.
How do teenagers feel about sexting?
Risqué behavior or simply risky? Several teens interviewed at Central Mall recently were against sexting and said it should be banned, while others deemed it as being another practice teenagers will do regardless of how officials or parents feel about it.
At first, Denisha Fentroy, 17, of Port Arthur said sending sext messages was not a big deal until she considered the risks.
“I think it would be stupid for officials to ban it because teens are going to do what they want to do,” Fentroy said. “But now that I think about it, it is dangerous. Nowadays, if you send that kind of message to another dude they could show their friends and it could end up anywhere and that’s not cool.”
Fentroy, said she is sexually active and in the past sent explicit text messages to other recipients but never sent explicit photos via cell phone.
“I don’t send pictures,” Fentroy said. “If someone wants to see me they can do that in person because that’s dangerous.”
Tu Nguyen, 18, said sext messaging should be banned, not by the government but by parents.
“Parents should support and talk to their children in general because teens don’t think too much about risks,” Nguyen said. “I think it all starts at home.”
The issue is freedom of speech, Kaleb Philip, 17, said. “Teens should be allowed to say or do whatever they want if it’s among other teens, but then you run into the problem of child pornography,” Philip said. If a 16-year-old sends one of those messages to, let’s say to an 18-year-old, then it becomes a problem.”
Philip said he knows parents do not want children sending sext messages because it is explicit content and it is dangerous, but there is a plus side to teenagers sexting.
“Instead of going to someone’s house and seeing it in person, at least teens are just seeing it on the phone,” Philip said.
Sexting in Schools
Sexting may be the “popular” thing for students to do during school hours but, according to Mark Porterie, assistant superintendent with the Port Arthur Independent School District, students better think twice before ever pressing send again.
“Students need to understand that sexting while in school will not be tolerated and that they are putting themselves at risk of not participating in extra and co-curricular activities and the possibility of a harsher punishment,” Porterie said.
According to Port Arthur school officials, the district not only prohibits the use of cellular phones during school hours, but also widely encourages students to refrain from making decisions that put them in danger.
“It is the posture of the district that students not bring cell phones onto the school campus,” Porterie said. “It is the direction of the district that we inform our students of the consequences when they engage in such activities.”
Porterie said punishment for sexting would be based on district policy.
“Many students at this age do not understand the long-term ramifications of their actions as they pertain to not only school, but their private lives,” Porterie said.
With plans to educate parents and students about the consequences of sexting, Porterie said the school district will strive to deal with the situation head on and encourages outside assistance from parents and others in the community.
Prevention begins at home
If having the “sex talk” with teens was not hard enough, now parents may have to face the challenge of having a “sext talk” too.
Cisca Sheppard of Nederland, the mother of two teens, believes sexting is an issue that can be dealt with if parents communicate with children.
“I am very open with my children and they discuss a lot of things they do, and if we find out that they have been sexting we are going to punish them,” Sheppard said. “I don’t live under a rock. I’m not going to say I don’t know that kids do it, but as a parent I still don’t want my child doing it.”
Sheppard said she believes a sexting law should be passed to protect children from sexual predators and humiliation — but ultimately prohibitions should begin with parents.
“It all boils down to if children can be more open with their parents then parents can nip that matter in the bud before it becomes a problem.”
A father as well as a police officer, Maj. Clark said teenagers do not realize one sext message could lead to a whirlwind of problems in the future.
“As a parent, you learn that you must take control of situations. Parents know that it (sexting) will harm them in the long run, because we as parents know what innocent fun can lead to and we have to be the enforcers in that case,” Clark said.
How to end the trend
Many teenagers all over the world own a cellular phone or have access to one. Completely putting an end to the trend of sexting may take a lot of effort, but raising awareness about the sexting craze is a good start.
According to Clark, breaking the sexting craze begins with parental discretion and some good judgment from teens.
“There’s a debate of trust versus safety, monitoring a teenager’s cell phone, and it’s clearly not an easy issue communicating with your teens though the process is essential. Teens need to feel they’ve been given the benefit of the doubt, But if a situation arises where their safety is at stake parents should be ready to investigate,” Clark said.
There are several software programs available that parents can use to monitor children’s cell phone activities.
“Some parents should point out that cell phones are a privilege and if you (children) mess that up then they need to be punished,” Clark said.
In school, work or home, with so many advances in computer technology, no matter where teens send sext messages, danger is only one click away.
rbrown@panews.com
