Sunday, November 04, 2018

Discuss Sexting With Your Children


Many children and adolescents are asking their parents for a smartphone this holiday season. In their peer group it is a status of superiority to own the latest version. Children from elementary school to young adult learn how to download the apps they prefer and communicate to their friends and family up to sixteen times a minute each day. They create a virtual world with minimal human contact. This can become a parent’s nightmare as they try to monitor appropriate interaction with friends. Trends are mounting around sexually explicit selfies or videos. They also capture and forward screenshots from intimate Instagram photos or FaceTime video chats.

Be Proactive

When parents make the decision to purchase a phone for their child, they need to have a conversation about preserving their privacy online. More than one in four teens under 18 years of age have received sexts and nearly 15% have sent them. According to a 2018 review of 39 studies this is happening more with the increasing use of smartphones. The JAMA Pediatrics survey studies report that over the last decade 12% have forwarded sexually explicit images without the subject’s consent and 8.4% have been a victim of sexts.

Sexting has been termed as the “gateway to future sexual activity”. Teens who have sent a sext are 32% more likely to be sexually active within a year’s time. Many children and teens don’t have the developmental ability to control their impulses at this age or exercise sound judgment. Sending a photo to the love of your life when you are 13 years old appears to be a logical choice.

Monitor the Electronics

Coerced sexting by aggressors who pressure or manipulate their victims can be emotionally devastating, triggering guilt, shame and embarrassment. This can be a nightmare for the parents and children involved as the photo is circulated online. Parents should begin teaching children about the risks before they are given a smartphone.  Children should understand the importance of keeping their private parts private! Your child needs to be strong enough to decline any request received, no matter how much social pressure is involved to send a sext.

Raising children today is very different now that technology has become a tool used to connect us with the world. What a young person posts on the internet today can haunt them later in life when they apply for that scholarship, interview with a potential employer or a job in public service. The potential legal consequences for juvenile sexting offenders range from community service to child pornography charges in some states.

Parents should start the discussion about the risks of sexting and emphasize it is never appropriate to pressure someone into sending a sext. Remind your child that there could be legal consequences for a poor choice and that once that image is online there is little that you can do to protect them. It is important to discuss what a healthy relationship is and coach them on safe responses if they are approached. If your child has had this experience seek legal counsel for your options and find a therapist who can guide you through the process of healing.