Sexting: Misappropriated Legislature?

Should teenagers be prosecuted as sex offenders?

Yes, absolutely.

When children are sending risque photos of each other, and viewing them on school grounds (I'm sure they are showing their friends), it is almost the same as having sex with minors in school!

Say a young boy receives a texted photo of a girl that he likes, but flips open his phone to find a naked (sexted) picture of that girl; this is something he did not want or ask for. IT IS RAPE!

It's one thing to sext in the privacy of your own home, but a cellphone is USED PUBLICALLY! Even so, children should not be sexting until they are at least 18 years old and are married.

Gang-rape may be a bit extravagant, but that boy and his friends should be prosecuted in some way. The poor girl intended that photo to be viewed by one person, not several.

Wikipedia (the link you provided) defines rape as sexual assualt -- take a look at that link. You will notice that in the third paragraph, Sexting is the FIRST FORM of sexual assault! It is also listed in the Specific Offenses on the right side of the page! Obviously sexters should be prosecuted, no matter their age.

However, I do agree with you -- cellphones should not be allowed in schools.

You can always trust the mass media to make a mountain out of a molehill. Their goal isn't to disseminate information; the goal is to sell papers (or get hits on their web site) and call attention to themselves.

i think u made a good point im with u all the wy with that one if the sexting is between both teens and they do it its not forcing them is their dicision that they are akin so they should not be registered as a sex offender

"Wikipedia (the link you provided) defines rape as sexual assualt -- take a look at that link. "

I think that you might want to check the link yourself prior to criticising someone else. The following excerpts are taken directly from the Wikipedia link that you have been discussing. It states that rape is a FORM of sexual assault. Not all sexual assault is rape. Even though "sexting" can be a form of sexual assault, that does not make it rape. Even the widest definition of rape by some jurisdictions denotes "all non-consentual sexual ACTIVITY". If someone takes a nude picture of themselves and sends it to someone who may not have any desire to see that picture, the worst that it can be construed as is sexual assault, NOT RAPE!!!!!!

The following are taken from the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape

Definitions

Rape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent.

Though definitions vary, rape is defined in most jurisdictions as sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, by one person ("the accused" or "the perpetrator") with or against another person ("the victim") without the consent of the victim.

The term sexual assault is closely related to rape.

I wouldn't call Wikipedia the be all and end all of legal definitions. The idea that a picture sent between teens is an assault is over the top. Most teen boys would be amused. Maybe a teen girl would be offended, especially if they didn't want the attention. That might be harassment but assault? It would seem that people are trying to apply extreme labels to the activity as a hysterical response to something they don't approve of.

All that I was stating is that the absolute worst crime that this can be construed as is sexual assault. It would take a pretty extreme case and a whole lot of people with their heads residing in their nether regions to come up with that though. I personally think that if someone wants to do that, then they should be able to. Parents need to step up and take responsibility for raising their children, not letting the school system do it for them. One of my neices has a cell phone and when she got in trouble for texting during school, she lost her phone for 6 months. She voluntarily gave up her phone and set the pujnishment for herself. This is, in my opinion, a result of GOOD PARENTING. When raised properly, kids will take responsibility for their own actions and make decisions that they decide upon and not let their friends make the decision for them. I am tired of constantly hearing parents blaming their childrens behavior on the tv shows or on internet content. Turn off the damned tv, unplug the frigging computer, step up and be a damned parent!

Sexual harassment at work place, schools, collages, parties, travel, roads etc. is a very common news which we hear the most. Most of the peoples are not aware about sexual harassment and its very important to make them aware, this will help us to decrease occurring sexual harassment. By the help of Pria Cash website we can came to know a lots of things base on sexual harassment. It's my personal experience that this website help girls a lot and we can share our views and quarries with others in its forum.

The law here in the UK states that the person sending explicit or pornographic images will be prosecuted. The person who receives them will not be prosecuted as long as he/she does not pass them on!

Spencer.

Ok, in what logic is a teenage boy going to feel "raped" by a nude photo of a girl he likes. and if they are both under 18 there shouldn't be a problem. Plus, a cell phone is not that public, the whole idea of texting is that there is a way to communicate privately when you are around a group.

at least 18 years old and are married. - what century are you living in? 18 years & married, do you live in Utah?

Well then might as well make all porn illegal to have, send, and recieve. by your logic. The fact is this what can you do if the child takes a picture of themselves? Lets say a 13 year old takes a nude shot of herself or himself and sends it to the one their trying to attract to go out. What can you do? Should you punish them for doing something they did during their stupidity of their youth 10 years down the road when they are 23? I Hardly think a childhood mistake should haunt somone the rest of their life, otherwise what is growing up about? Being purfect? It is called learning as one grows up, sure the parents should be informed, and the child needs to be talked to about it and taught the reason that doing such things is wrong. They need to be given a good grounding in morality but everyone is a sinner. I think your trying to stone somone before they have fully realized. We arent born with a perfect understanding and dicispline to do what is right when we first come into this world.

Do you know how creepy you sound, man? Being an "It's OK for 13-Year-Old Girls and Boys to Send Naked Self-Portraits" advocate isn't something you want to yell from a rooftop.

Besides - is it legal to have a beer when you are 13? No. Smoke cigarettes? No. Drive a car? Watch an R or X rated film? No. Send X rated photos of your self to anyone? No! A lot of kids will still do all those things before they a legal, but it's still a law.

If they only reason for a sexting law was too keep digital photos of children away from sick perverts like yourself, then I'd say that is a damn good reason.

Hmmm.....

What about jokes that aren't "clean"? Will they be next?

I think those are already covered under sexual harassment, but what about books that describe sexual acts? Are we going to put an age limit on reading?

Good Question?

Spencer.

And what about CR4?

....this is really just another reason to buy an iPhone. MMS is not supported so you can't receive photos in text messages...er i mean sext messages....

"Sexting.....there ISN'T an app for that"

http://cr4.globalspec.com/blogentry/8331/Are-iPhones-Really-Worth-All-the-Hype

With all the wonderful new laws being passed everyday, the USA must be getting better and better all the time.

land of the censored, home of the sexually uninhibited teens...

GA Ed. In a free society effectively legislating morality is extremely difficult. As we (society) rationalize our growing permissiveness and abdicate our parental responsibilities, it becomes impossible.

Teens need to have a clear sense of what is right and wrong and that there are always consequences for wrong decisions. They are never going to receive this from a politically biased media and educational system and certainly never from a mountain of laws that takes a law degree to comprehend. The responsibility lies with parents.

I'd suggest that bad parenting should be illegal and have consequences, but I would just be suggesting that the problem should be the solution!

So how do we break the cycle? We need to teach the children of today to be good parents, but they're learning parenting from parents who (apparently) aren't always practicing good parenting.

Let's say we somehow got the message across to the younger generation that good parenting is ... well, good ... and they want to learn. If their parents aren't teaching or even practicing morality, and the media (as Guest pointed out) isn't taking responsibility for promoting morality, where are they going to learn it?

Unfortunately immorality is profitable (i.e. "sex sells"), so what are some ways we could make good morals profitable enough for people, companies, and/or media to lead by example?

It's easier to walk downhill than up, so there needs to be some motivator to turn around...

For most of our "short" history, the strong faith,family and conscience of American society generally kept our morality intact. As we "progressively" move to a secular society, redefine our families and become more self centered, no laws or legal system can prevent the changes we are seeing. Do we wonder why we are sometimes referred to as decadent? When we can find a way to change the heart of this nation, we will have the solution. If the majority believes "we are heading in the right direction" we will eventually arrive where we don't really want to be!

I personally believe that the solution is true faith in action (not religion). Or we can just sit back and watch us destroy ourselves step by step.

When everything is illegal, everyone is always guilty. People should have the right to be stupid. Children are still learning. Making everythingthey do wrong illegal is also stupid. Making stupid laws should be illegal.

Good post. There is no doubt that a minority of teens are buying into this stuff and it's obvious that the media sinks to the lowest common denominator like a brick. But turning teens into felons and registered sex offenders is no solution. It would be far better if the kids were assigned community service and the parents called in on the carpet. Even teens having sex with each other isn't punished by law. This is a good example of technology (and warped imagination) outrunning the legislative process. I am reminded of a case in which the owner of a local marina was caught with video tapes of female customers taken from cameras hidden in the showers. Turned out that since there was no audio on the tape there was no NY law against what had been done - until tapes with underage girls were found. Needless to say the NY law was updated rather quickly.

Don't count on the legislature to keep up.

"I cannot understand how parents (and society in general) didn't see 'sexting' coming...There comes a point where people want to explore their sexuality..."

I agree, this isn't anything new. Teenagers think about sex, talk about sex, and have been doing this all along... it's part of growing up.

When I was in middle/high school, it was writing notes to each other or using Instant Messaging when you were at home. That was how we communicated for everything, whether it was about sex, planning what to do after school, or getting help with English homework.

Today's technology lets teenagers communicate with their cell phones. Texting a message is just like writing a note or an email, but the message is instantly delivered to their pocket; the words in the message haven't changed, it's just in a new form. Sexting is nothing more then a new form of something teens have been doing for years.

Re: "I agree, this isn't anything new." ...

I know you. You're the guy who snubbed his nose at the newest Lamborghini and Bugatti saying THEY weren't anything new ... that Henry Ford had beaten them to it...!

Slippery-slimey silver-tongued demons love finding ways to justify wrongdoings in just this fashion: play-it-down ... state profoundly that it's "ok", because everybody does it, everybody has ALWAYS done it, so what's the big deal?!?

Skip right over the meat of the argument.

"Yes", kids have to grow-up ... eventually. But "evolution" hasn't advanced us to the point where kids are ready to buy homes, have kids and pay taxes at age 18. So WHY should we NOT be concerned about technologies which, combined WITH societal-decay, are driving kids towards decadence before they get out of school?

I shudder to think what I'll see in the streets 30 years from now, looking out my retirement-home windows... babies-babies having more babies... and the morning news saying: "Isn't this a wonderful boon to our society! Soon we'll have plenty of new taxpaying workers ... let's start spending those dollars , QUICK!"

You made my day! This is why I comment on these issues.

In reply, I should make it clear that I'm saying kids are not evolving much, but technology is. As a result, it creates the exact misconception you pointed out.

I think you can boil down the core focus of pop culture even further; aquisition, of which sex is certainly one of the prevalent components, definitely the most insidious and manipulable.

Why?

Because it is both an end in itself, and a means toward other aquisitions, on the personal level (Sugar Daddies), the corporate level (Viagra) and everything in between (Paris Hilton).

And because it is hardwired into our biological imperative.

As you and others here have stated, effective parental preparation and counselling are the only and best line of defence. I wish us all good luck with that, as I don't think it was ever easy, and the challenges piling up aren't showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

At least the degenerate money & ho's B.S. gangsta rap culture seems to be on the way out.

The short answer, IMHO, is no, kids should not be prosecuted for sexting. But I do take issue with some of the article, as written. I would ask if the author actually believes that if kids are sexting, that they are not having sex ("Sexting has been labeled as bad and dangerous, but isn't it still better than kids actually having sex?"). I do not believe that these kids are using sexting as a substitute for sex. On the contrary, I believe that the sexting is being uses a means to the end, which is having sex.

Yes, we all made mistakes as kids, and we still make mistakes as adults. Many of us continued to make mistakes as kids (and adults) because the consequences were either not there, or not harsh enough. Most of us realize that when there are consequences, we tend to do what's right and do the right thing(s). Again, this does not mean that I think kids should be prosecuted for sexting. But there needs to be a consequence for this potentially destructive activity.

We really need to go back to understanding a parent's role in the child's life. We can't boil it down to one or two reasons why this is happening. But part of the problem is that many parents are too busy, afraid, unwilling, ignorant, or just plain wanting too much to be friends with their kids, to address the issue. When parents stop parenting, kids can, and many times do, go astray.

Right now, the laws are really directed towards adults and pornography. The speed of technology is light years ahead of many of the laws on the books. So we have to do the best with what we have, until the laws are changed. The problem is that when an image is sent out, most of the time it's out there for good. One kid sends it to a friend who sends it to another, and so on. Once that happens, it's virtually impossible to get back.

Yes, the article is correct, in that parents need to get on the ball with their kids. Parents need to learn how to say "NO". Several months ago, my 11 year old son came home from school and asked if he could have a cell phone because "everyone" in his school had one. I told him no. My 13 year old has been asking for a cell phone for a year now. Many of his friends have a cell phone, and they give him a hard time because I won't let him have one. That, in my opinion, is wrong. But it's life. Kids can be mean and cruel, especially if their parents are not teaching them values and morals.

Parents need to stop using these devices as babysitters or as pacifiers for their kids. They need to understand and address these problems. Parents seem to be trying to find easier ways to parent . . . but there's only one easy way to parent, and that is to be involved in everything your kids do.

i agree that sexting is better then actrually having sex bu weere probably gonna do both anyway so just leave us alone!