Remember the “good old days” when parents only had to be concerned about their teens drinking, doing drugs, partying and skipping classes?
Well these days, parents have a whole new level of worry.
And they have technology to thank.
Sure, sure, technology is great. It can do this, it can do that. It allows us to connect with others at a moments notice, send emails, instant message, take pictures, and apparently, be sexually adventurous.
Yes, you read that right.
These days, some teens, who admittedly are not exercising their best judgment, are no longer sending innocent texts with LOL’s, BRB’s and smiley faces. They are taking nude pictures and forwarding them to boyfriends and girlfriends.
It’s been coined as “sexting”, and it’s a whole new and naughty form of texting.
Sadly, many of these teens don’t seem to understand the harsh consequences their sexually adventurous, or rather, “misadventurous” behavior, can have.
What may be intended for one person has the potential to be seen by hundreds more.
All it takes is one person exacting revenge over a breakup (which, let’s face it, is common for teens to do) or the wrong hands and the wrong eyes to get a hold of a classmates cell phone.
Is it about teens seeking attention? Is it about impulsiveness? Or is it just plain stupidity?
Teenagers have always been accused of being rash, but sexting is dangerous, unnecessary and ridiculous behavior for anyone, let alone someone under the age of 18 and in high school.
According to the Winnipeg Free Press, the average Canadian teen sends a whopping 3, 339 texts a month.
That’s over three thousand chances to get naked for a cell phone, and end up humiliated and embarrassed.
It’s even resulting in deaths. One Ohio teen hanged herself in 2008 after her ex-boyfriend shared nude pictures she had sent to him.
So what are parents to do?
One thing is for certain, they can’t continue to be naïve about their teen’s behavior, and they need to monitor what their child is sending on a regular basis.
Way back when, having a cell phone in high school was considered a privilege, and it should have remained that way.
Sexting, after all, is so not sexy.
I miss the days when cell phones were just used in emergency situations. Our whole family had one – it was kept in the glove box of the car and was only to be used if we had a problem. Now working as a teaching assistant, I notice these students are interrupting OUR lessons to answer their phones, texting and listening to their ipods.