What does the community want us to do about SEXTING?

Recently the University of Michigan childrens hospital ran a poll asking adults about their views regarding youth sexting and the punishments/legislation around that. The poll found that the vast majority, 81 percent, of adults think an educational program or counseling is an appropriate consequence for teens who sext. Most adults also favor similar non-criminal programs: 76 percent of adults think schools should give all students and parents information on sexting, and 75 percent of adults support requiring community service for sexting teens.

I know that in each of the FRESH Youth focus courses the discussion turns to sexting and what we should do about it. As the law currently stands in South Australia
Sending suggestive or sexual images that can then be posted on the net or texted to other people is Illegal... if it involves the production or dissemination of child pornography or indecent material.

If you want to read more on the article go here. If you want to know more about sexting and the law in South Australia contact
Legal Services Commission82-98 Wakefield Street, Adelaide, or go here to have a look at what LAWSTUFF has to say.

Females more likely to sext?

An article in medical news today talks about a study done that indicates women are more likely to send ( via mobile phone) sexually explissit photographs of themselves than men. Below you can see some quotes from the article.

Females are more likely to send sexually explicit text messages, often containing nude photographs of themselves than men, researchers from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Washburn University reported in the journal Sexuality and Culture. Approximately two-thirds of women surveyed sent such text messages compared to less than half of men (those surveyed were already a very selected list).


Experts believe that when sexting, males tend to go straight for the hard stuff, while females are more descriptive and prefer carrying out a kind of foreplay in their correspondence. A male is more visually stimulated, while females are driven more by creative fantasy, they added. However, both sexes are stimulated visually.

What I dont see explored in this research is ideas of gender roles, oppression and exploitation of women as ingrained in culture which enables this difference.

To read more of this article ( which also goes onto fidelty and 'is sexting cheating') etc etc go here

De bunking sexting

One of my favourite blog writers ' Cory Silverberg' from About.com:Sexuality has a different perspective on sexting than the one I posted in video form 2 weeks ago.

Here is what he says:

"My favorite not for profit sex tech organization ISIS was featured on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle today responding to the recent rash of media coverage about teens sending naked pictures of themselves and each other over their mobile phones and the smaller but scarier series of charges that local cops have laid on teens engaging in this behavior (about two dozen teens in six states). In some of the cases teens are being charged with producing and distributing child pornography.
The activity has been called “sexting” a term that as best as I can tell was made up by an adult who’s never done it. It doesn’t even sound like a word anyone under the age of 30 would use. I’d love to know the derivation of it, because even the use of the word “sex” in the term suggests it was made up by someone who either disapproves of it or wanted to get people’s attention by using it (something catchy for headlines).
The piece is decidedly sex-positive and framed around the idea that what is fueling interest in this activity is fear about teen sexuality and technology. It included results from a survey of teens that found only 20 percent of teens acknowledged sending “nude or semi-nude” pictures online or through their phones."

Go here to read more

sexting

Some studies have identified that over 20% of highschool students have sent nude or semi nude txt photos/films of themselves.

Here is a pretty good youtube video re possibile negative outcomes of sexting:




"It’s OK to be flirty and feel sexy, but sexting isn’t harmless fun. You have no control over what happens to those pics—or your reputation—when sexting.

This came from the sexetc blog