CBS news reports that in July 2010, 10 Pennsylvanian high school students felt the weight of their actions when they were all sentenced with felony charges for child pornography. What had they done? The National Conference of State Legislature defines their crime as sexting: sending sexually suggestive content such as nude or semi-nude pictures to others via text message. The judge who charged them for the 10 pictures that they had sent to each other said that videos or pictures could end up anywhere, namely the internet. While this may be true there were also adverse reactions to the charges. Some thought that the consequences should be different, while others interviewed thought that it was not anyone else's concern except the parties who sent the pictures.
In California, sexting to minors can also result in a child pornography charge. Some states have the same law while others have mildly different variations. Since 2009, 14 different states have tackled the issue of sexting by making bills, while in September of 2011, 21 states made laws targeting the issue. The five states that passed laws about sexting are Florida, North Dakota, Nevada, Texas and Rhode Island. To understand the sexting craze more, some states have even further investigated by issuing surveys and studies.
In a recent article posted on Health news, it was revealed that 13 percent of high school students have allegedly received a sexually explicit text message. The article also reported results that sexting correlates with the mental and physical health of those who are sending them. According to the results of a survey done in 2010, sexting can be a means of picking on or forcing and most of the young adults who are involved are psychologically upset, depressed, or suicidal.
The Health source reports that those who were depressed within the last year were more likely to sext than those who were not. While in high school, it was also stated that 11 percent of girls were sexting while only 1% less of boys were involved in that same activity. 6% of boys had reported that they had sent a picture of themselves while 4% of girls had admitted that they sent an inappropriate picture.
Health News also reported that an internet safety specialist at Norton suggested that parents set rules with cell phones for their teenager comparable to the computer. She suggests that parents might want the phone to charge in a family area at night so that the phone is not accessible to the teens in late hours without supervision. She suggests that parents should talk to their teenagers about sexting at an earlier age than 16 and recommends discussing with boys why it is disrespectful to receive a sext message from a girl. Another source who is a cyber bully researcher tells parents to just speak with their kids and also to tell them to delete the message unopened and not discuss it with others upon receiving them.
If a minor receives a sext message in California, it could be sentenced as a crime. According to the California Penal Code in section 288.2, it prohibits the sending of a text to a minor if the intent is to seduce the minor. The person who sent the sext can be charged with either a misdemeanor or a felony. Therefore, like the case in Pennsylvania, two minors could have sent the sext message to each other and still received the penalty: three years in prison.
It also is possible that the person who sent the inappropriate text might be ordered to register as a sex offender. This not only applies to sexts but also to any form of contact to a minor. Could the laws be a little too harsh? The judge in the Pennsylvania case thought so: he claimed that when he sentenced the 10 students that the punishment which they received was "too harsh," but legally it was the only way he could sentence them. As time goes on and more states study the sexting craze, perhaps those who think a more balanced alternative is needed, may see that time come.
