December, 2010:

Part III : Technology Gone Crazy.
Minors Sexting Minors

Although they are aware of risks, many teenagers choose to expose personal information about themselves online in public forums and places.  About ¾ of teens have a profile on an on-line social media site of some kind where they have posted themselves, their friends and other personal information.

When asked about whether or not they are concerned with posting personal information on social media sites and on-line profiles, a whopping 68% of teens were not overly concerned about publicizing personal information.

Teens today are extremely technologically connected and much of their life experience is via the internet, social media texting, photo sharing, email, texting and now sexting.  20% of teens’ media consumption occurs on mobile devices: cell phones, iPods or other devices and according to the January 2010 Generation M2, Media in the Lives of 8-18-year olds; Kaiser Family Foundation Study,  teens spend about 49 minutes a day listening to, playing, or watching other media on their phones – they also spend about an hour and a half a day texting. It is estimated that teens who text average 118 texts per day.

The technology infiltrates everything teens do and is often the vehicle they use to express themselves.  They use email, social sites and their cell phone to share, describe and explore their feelings – frustration, joy, excitement – and now their sexuality.

73% of teens today have cell phones. It is not, therefore, surprisingly that 1 in 5 teens engages in sexting, most commonly sexting boyfriends/ girlfriends, because they believe it to be fun or because they were asked to.  Shocking, however, is that about 1 in 10 teens have sent sexts to individuals unknown to them.

About one-fourth of the teens surveyed think don’t see any problems and that sexting is fine as long as the people both sending and receiving the sext think it’s okay.  Over one-half of the respondents surveyed agreed, “people my age are old enough to decide for themselves whether it is all right for them to send nude or sexually suggestive photos of themselves to other people.”  Slightly under one-half think that adults are overreacting when teens send sexually suggestive text messages and emails to each other.

The majority of both teen senders and receivers sent sexually suggestive text messages to a girlfriend or boyfriend, thinking it would be a fun and intimate thing to do without considering the global implications of the technology and its far reaches into the world-wide-web.

Many teens admit to sending sexual images with a romantic partner, in lieu of, or as a prelude to, or as a part of sexual activity.

However, these images shared innocently enough between these love interests can easily be forwarded without the others’ knowledge or permission to friends/classmates, other individuals or posted on a website in a public forum.

Sext senders are more likely to be teenage girls than boys (65%) and while approximately 74% of teens think that receiving or sending nude or nearly-nude/sexually suggestive photos of someone under 18 is wrong, the sexting continues.

In other scenarios the teens are sending sexual images to someone they would like to “hook-up with” as a form of flirtation.  They wish to become romantically involved and it a flirtation.

Sexting | The New Teen Relationship Currency

While many teens are willing sending and receiving these sexual images, other teens are feeling pressured to do so. Moreover, sexting has become a form of relationship currency and is being leveraged in dating and relationships, e.g., for instance if you don’t comply with the request to send sexually suggestive photos to the requester you are ignored and the requester moves on to the next girl.

One older high school teen said, “I haven’t [sent sexts] but most of the girls who have are usually pressured by a guy that they like or want to like them, or their boyfriends. It’s probably more common than what it seems because most people who get involved in this were probably pressured by someone to do it.” (Pew Research Center, December 15, 2009 Report on Teens and Sexting).

Teens Take Notice | Teen Sexting is Illegal in Arizona

Arizona is the seventh state to make sexting a juvenile misdemeanor offense with a bill that went into effect on May 7th, 2010.  It is a misdemeanor for a juvenile to use a computer or cell phone to send or possess “explicit sexual material” from another juvenile in the form of a photo or video.

• Recording, filming, photographing, developing or duplicating any visual depiction in which a minor is engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct.
• Distributing, transporting, exhibiting, receiving, selling, purchasing, electronically transmitting, possessing or exchanging any visual depiction in which a minor is engaged in exploitive exhibition or other sexual conduct.

Sexual exploitation of a minor is a Class 2 felony and punishable with a presumptive five year term of incarceration.

Pursuant to A.R.S. §13-705, however, sexual exploitation of a minor under 15 years of age is classified as a dangerous crime against children, and punishable with a presumptive 17 year term of incarceration. The maximum term of imprisonment for a class 2 misdemeanor is four months.

A.R.S. §13-3560 defines electronic communication device as any electronic device that is capable of transmitting visual depictions and includes computers and cell phones.

A.R.S. §13-3551 defines visual depiction as each visual image that is contained in an undeveloped film, videotape or photograph or data stored in any form and that is capable of conversion into a visual image.

What Happens If You’re Caught Sexting a Teen?

(even if you are another teen)

Along with any public or private humiliation of your family, teachers or friends finding out, the law states that the punishment for sexting is as follows:

• Creates a petty offense for a juvenile who intentionally or knowingly uses an electronic communication device to transmit a sexually explicit depiction of a minor to one other person.
• Creates a Class 3 misdemeanor for a juvenile who intentionally or knowingly uses an electronic communication device to transmit a sexually explicit depiction of a minor to more than one other person.
• Creates a petty offense for a juvenile who intentionally or knowingly possesses a sexually explicit depiction of a minor that was transmitted to the juvenile through the use of an electronic communication device.

Conclusion | Teen-to-Teen Sexting Isn’t Worth Ruining Your Life For

Teens you have a long, happy and productive life in front of you.  Don’t blow it just to get a date or to please someone’s curiosity.

Below are some resources that will be helpful for you if you are a teen or an adult wanting to have the “sexting” conversation with your son or daughter, or others. Sexting Brochure

Together, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the AZICAC have produced materials for adults and teens with tips to help spot potential internet predators and how to best protect your personal information on the world wide web.  Posters and Resources for Educator and Parents

see related posts:
Part I – Unwanted Sexting from a Minor | How to Stay Out of Jail
Part II – Sexting with a Minor | How to Go to Jail
Part III – Minor Flirtation with Danger | Sexting Teenagers | How to Go to Jail