New Report Examines the Prevalence of Sexting Among Teenagers

By |

According to a new report published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine , more than half of all respondents in a recent evaluation of teen “sexting” trends reported that they had been asked to send nude photos of themselves to other teens, with more than a quarter of the respondents stating that they had sent nude photos of themselves to other adolescents. The report, Teen Sexting and Its Association With Sexual Behaviors, entailed a longitudinal study involving 848 high school students in seven high schools in southeast Texas. The mean age of the respondents was 15.8, with a majority of the population consisting of 10th and 11th grade students. Researchers found that 28 percent of the sample population reported having sent a nude photo of themselves via “sext” - a sexually explicit e-mail or text message, usually sent and received via a cell phone or smart phone. An additional 31 percent of the sample population said that they had asked someone to send them a sext, with 57 percent of respondents reporting that they had been asked by someone to send them a sext.

New Study Dispels Some Notions About Sexting

By |

The journal Pediatrics has published a new study on the prevalence of teens sending sexually explicit texts and nude images of themselves to other teens. The study reports that 2.5 percent of children interviewed age 10 to 17 have appeared in or created somewhat or nearly nude photographs or videos. However, only one in 100 has created images that are sexually explicit enough to be considered a breach of child pornography laws, such as showing breasts, genitals or bottoms.

The study, published Dec. 5th, is based on 1,560 in-depth telephone interviews with minors. It is one of the largest surveys yet to examine the subject.

New Jersey Sexting Bill Stresses Education Over Prosecution for Teens

By |

A bill moving through the New Jersey Legislature would force kids caught sending sexually explicit photographs and videos through their cell phone to attend an intense education program rather than face prosecution.  The measure, A-1561, passed the Assembly 78-to-0 in March and now moves to the state Senate for final approval. “Sexting,” as the practice is known popularly, has recently been in the news thanks to U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) who was caught sending lewd photos of himself to female constituents.  As JJIE.org reported recently, Weiner will likely face fewer consequences than many teens found sexting, who may face child pornography charges. “Teens need to understand the ramifications of their actions, but they shouldn’t necessarily be treated as criminals,” Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden), a co-sponsor, told NewJerseyNewsroom.com. The education program would teach participants about the possible legal and social consequences of sexting.  Juveniles who successfully complete the education program would not face trial. A second co-sponsor, Assemblywoman Celeste Riley (D-Cumberland), said the measure would help kids who make a mistake not “pay for it in court.”

 

June 17, 2011

By |

In Atlanta, the Boys of Summer on the Diamond and in the Community

Teens Face More Consequences from Sexting than Congressmen Do

Attorney Andrew Agatston on Bullying Laws in GA

Teens Face More Consequences from Sexting than Congressmen Do

By |

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner may not have broken any laws by texting lewd photos of himself to younger women he didn’t know. In many states, however, teens who send pictures of themselves to their own girlfriends or boyfriends can be prosecuted for child pornography. Allyson Pereira calls that hypocrisy. She should know. She’s spent six years dealing with the consequences of “sexting” one topless image of herself to an ex-boyfriend.

Cherie K. Miller On Her Boy, Teen Sex and Condoms

By |

There’s a lot of boy-stuff we have to deal with in my household. But that’s what you get when you have seven of them. So believe me when I say, when it comes to sons, I’ve seen it all. Still, there’s one thing that never gets easier, that’s seeing them fall in and out of love and having to deal with all the challenges in between. One of my boys was a freshman in high school when he fell hard for another girl in his class.

A Sad Tale of Sexting

By |

See this story in Sunday's New York Times of 14-year-old Margarite's mistake in 2010 that led to her own humiliation and altered the lives of so many around her.

Forsyth Investigator Educates Teens, Parents About Cyber Dangers

By |

The United States Constitution might be the law of the land, but some of its basic provisions don’t prevail in Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jeff Roe’s home. “In my house my two children have no Fourth Amendment rights,” quips the father of a 10-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son. “They know that I have the right to log onto any of their email accounts at any time. I can go into their room and inspect the contents of anything that I want to at any time. A lot of parents say they don’t want to invade their children's privacy; I say it’s called being a parent.”

That same in-your-face-style shines through in the community seminars he has conducted on the sheriff’s department’s behalf for the past four years.

Forsyth County Most Aggressive in Fighting Teen Sexting

By |

There have been at least 10 sexting cases in the Forsyth County school system over the past four years. This is what drives sheriff’s investigator Jeff Roe in his campaign against sexting and Internet based sex crime among teens, according to the AJC. He visits schools with a blunt message: kids have committed suicide after being exposed on the Internet and in picture text messages. He urges students to take the problem seriously by not participating in any form of sexting, explicit text messaging or sharing of lewd images online. Is the reach out to the community working?