Teen Sex Panic: Media Still Freaking Out About "Sexting"

By Christopher White, National Sexuality Resource Center. Posted May 18, 2009.

The sensationalizing, melodramatic, "scare-the-crap-out-of-you", hype machine that passes for mass media these days is once again doing its best to ensure that parents are ready to break out the chastity belts, pass out whistles for "stranger danger" encounters, install nanny software on their home computers to block adult content, and this time, take away their cell phones to ensure that they are safe from the big, bad, sexually predatory world out there. Yes, I'm talking about the attention the "recent phenomenon" labeled "sexting" has gotten in the mainstream media in the last few weeks.  According to the news reports I found via a simple Google search, sexting is a very dangerous activity that could damage your future and ruin your life - although there wasn't really much of an explanation of how this could happen.  Instead of getting caught up in yet another panic, let's take a rational look at this "new" behavior as well as some of the real concerns that a more responsible press might address. 

First, sexting is not new.  Cell phones are no longer new; texting is no longer new; and even sending photos via a cell phone is no longer a new technology.  And before there were cell phones, there was the internet and a similar panic about teens emailing nude photos or posting nude photos online. There was even a Veronica Mars episode about it as well as numerous Law and Order: SVU episodes (I heard that SVU has already had an episode about sexting, but I haven't seen it yet).  Before there was this "new" technology, teenagers engaging in this "new" behavior wrote each other explicit notes, gave one another nude Polaroids, and spent hours talking "dirty" to each other on the phone - and I seem to recall that all of these, including secretly recorded phone calls, were passed around my high school.

Which brings me to the second issue at hand, the real problem is not the sexting itself but the nonconsensual actions that are taking place later.  I think it is pointless to argue whether or not it is appropriate or inappropriate for young people to send explicit photos or texts to their boyfriends and girlfriends because I believe they should be allowed to make those decisions for themselves and that it is our responsibility as teachers, parents, and other adults to help them make wise decisions and not just panic after the act has occurred.  What should be a greater concern are the things that are happening when one party feels jilted and decides to seek revenge on their ex.  Sending photos out to friends and family members or posting them online without the consent of the other person is an assault on that individual in an attempt to cause them great harm and suffering and is where we should be focusing our greatest efforts at stopping a behavior, if that is the action most needed.  Instead, certain groups are pointing their finger at the person whose photo was distributed without her permission and putting the blame on the victim.  And yes, I say "she" because it is once again girls who are being targeted during this panic because it is their virtue and purity that need protecting otherwise they damage their futures - boys, apparently, will just be boys and it's not such a big deal when guys put up photos of their body parts. 

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