The Lure of Teen Sexting

Is the lure of sexting just another risk taking activity teens do? Sexting can be defined as sending explicit photos to someone’s cell phone or texting risqué sexual language to another cell phone. We all know as a teen, this is the time when risky behavior begins. When teens are asked if they know the legal ramifications if caught sexting, the common answer is “Yes, but it won’t happen to me.” 

Is the lure of sexting to become popular with the “in crowd” or is it the risk of doing something they know they should not be doing?  As sexting continues its popularity among teens parents and schools need to talk to the teens about where these pictures could end up…..on the desk of college admissions or future employers.

Another danger of sexting is how much the photos get sent around from cell phone to cell phone.  Many teen boys who receive an explicit photo,  don’t  kept it on their cell phone but pass it around to many other boys, whereas about only half of the teen girls who receive a sext, would send it around to a third party.  This is a good warning to girls not to start sexting photos of themselves because most likely these photos will be seen by many eyes.  Parents need to talk to their teens about the ramifications of sexting and how this risky behavior could end up costing them more than what they bargained for.