It’s hard to believe that 10 years ago the word “sexting” didn’t exist. Heck, with advances in technology, teens are doing the nasty on their camera phones and web cams without you knowing about it!
Parents are providing their children access to new technology at an earlier age. What they don’t realize is that these means may allow for sending photos and videos which are inherently more explicit and can be very easily and widely proliferated, over which the original sender has no control.
Seriously, what ever happened to slipping a note to the guy you liked at school in his locker? Instead, you choose to kill the art courtship by overflowing your new guy’s text inbox with semi-nude photos? Photos which might not only end up in the wrong hands but also viewed by the wrong eyes, not to mention, there are legal implications for those under age 18.
It’s a domino effect — someone might send it to another’s phone and so on. Somewhere along the line, someone may have a Facebook app on their phone where they automatically upload it to their Facebook page. The humiliation one can face is enough to cause harm to oneself.
In addition, sexting isn’t limited to teens. More and more adults in relationships engage in the act as a means of cheating on their partner. It’s important to discuss the parameters of what cheating means to each individual because sexting opens up a whole new can of worms where some people may think that if you’re not physically touching someone, you’re not cheating.
Oh, what a tiny web we weave between cheating and the betrayal of trust and technology, where those who think that this flirting trend is harmless never realize how serious the consequences of behaving so provocatively and impulsively are, until it happens to them.
So lets attempt to carry ourselves in a way more integral and gracious way, so that when the right guy comes along, we have nothing to be ashamed of. And if we already do, lets keep it in that past, and takes strides to a new path, self-worth and lifestyle.
Words By: Ashley Kooblall
Image By: Lauren nelson
