Sexting: The Anonymity Irony

| By: Committee for Children

As parents, teachers, and children navigate our quickly evolving cyberscape, with its continents and oceans of Internet, texting, blogs, instant messaging, and social networking sites, not to mention whole new dialects and norms, we find both limitless possibility and opportunity for trouble. Although in many ways it is the young people who are leading this expedition, it is up to the adults to balance sharing our wisdom and experience with allowing our progeny to find their own way.

One of the recent cyberspace phenomena that might fall into the “opportunity for trouble” category is sexting. Sexting is sending nude or sexually suggestive photos and/or text via cell phone. Appearing recently in the news, courtrooms, and even pop culture, sexting features aspects that take it beyond “simply” exchanging sexually explicit pictures and messages with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Let's take a generic yet common example. A girl sends a provocative picture to her boyfriend. He saves it on his cell phone. A month later, the two break up, contentiously, and the boy comes up with the perfect revenge. He forwards the picture of his ex to all his friends. Some of his friends forward it to others. Within hours, the picture is in the hands of hundreds of people. Somewhere along the way it might get uploaded to a Facebook or MySpace page. At some point, the police might become involved. In some states, sexters may be prosecuted or forced to register as sex offenders (Lenhart, 2009).

So why would anyone take this kind of risk?

There are plenty of reasons. Teens, especially, are notorious in their inability to use good judgment at all times. Nancy E. Willard, executive director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use, writes, “the sexting phenomenon appears to be the result of a combination of factors: digital imaging technology that can easily capture and send images, impulsivity, raging hormones, peer or partner pressure, and teens’ biological incapability of effectively predicting the potential negative harmful consequences of their actions” (Willard, n.d.). In addition, communicating digitally is the norm for many teens now. Sexting may seem like a logical electronic extension of the same flirtatious behavior teens—and adults—have practiced forever (Schrock & boyd, 2008). In the words of some teens, sexting is “not a big deal” (Lenhart, 2009).

Whatever their personal reasons, many teens and young adults are sexting. According to a 2008 study by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP) and CosmoGirl.com, one in five teens and one in three young adults (ages 20 to 26) have sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves. Thirty-nine percent of teens and 59 percent of young adults have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages (NCPTUP, 2008). Some of those sexters have paid a price, either socially (public humiliation) or legally (Irvine, 2009). And yet, they go on sexting.

Anonymous? Or Very, Very Public?

A compelling feature of digital communication, such as instant and text messaging, is that users feel more free to post provocative messages and images in cyberspace than they would face-to-face. In fact, 22 percent of teens and 28 percent of young adults say they are personally more forward and aggressive using sexually suggestive words and images than they are in “real life” (NCPTUP, 2008).There is an illusion of anonymity when one sits in a bedroom, writing a message to someone one has “met” in a chat room. Even when texting a friend one sees every day, people of all ages tend to use different language and take on a different attitude or persona. But when it comes to sexting, young people are not sending images and text just to friends. Nearly one in five teens and young adults who send sexually suggestive messages and images do so to people they only know online (NCPTUP, 2008).  

And yet, ironically, that sense of freedom that comes with so-called anonymity can end up unleashing a chain reaction that could take the same sender far outside his or her perceived anonymity.

Out of Your Hands

Once a text message has been sent, the content is completely out of the sender's hands. The receiver may choose to delete it or save it, or s/he might forward it. As anyone who spends any time on the Internet knows, a message can be disseminated to thousands of viewers in very short order. Forty percent of teens and young adults say they have had a sexually suggestive message (originally meant to be private) shown to them, and 20 percent say they have shared such a message with someone other than the person for whom it was originally meant (NCPTUP, 2008). Even if the sender deletes an image immediately after sending it, that image may have already begun its own independent life, available for viewing by virtually anyone. “Potential employers, college recruiters, teachers, coaches, parents, friends, enemies, strangers, and others may all be able to find your past posts, even after you delete them” (NCPTUP, 2008).

Keeping Kids Safe

When it comes to finding that balance between allowing young people the freedom to explore and providing guidance to keep them safe, parents and educators have a plethora of resources available to them (Committee for Children, n.d.). The bottom line is communication. Adults must stay in touch with the children and youth in their lives. Adults need to establish rules about all digital communication, from cell to Web. Parents may need to periodically examine the contents of their children’s phones or computers. One mother of four girls states her policy in this way: “My kids are old enough to have cell phones, but they’re not old enough to have the right to complete privacy. They know that I can and will check their phones at any time. And…we just keep talking, day by day.”

References

Committee for Children (n.d.). Dealing with text message bullying. Seattle, WA: Author. https://www.cfchildren.org/programs/hot-topics/cyberbullying/dealing-with-text-message-bullying/

Irvine, M. (2009, February 4). Porn charges for “sexting” stir debate. Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29017808

Lenhart, A. (2009). Teens and sexting: How and why minor teens are sending sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images via text messaging. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/PIP_Teens_and_Sexting.pdf

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. (2008). Sex and tech: Results from a nationally representative survey of teens and young adults. Washington, DC: Author. http://www.thenationalcampaign. org/sextech/PDF/SexTech_Summary.pdf

Schrock, A. and boyd, d. (2008). Online threats to youth: Solicitation, harassment, and problematic content. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Berkman Center for Internet and Society. http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/RAB_Lit_Review_121808_0.pdf

Willard, N. (n. d.). Sexting & youth: Achieving a rational response. Eugene, OR: Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use. http://www.csriu.org/documents/documents/sexting.pdf