SEXTING AMONG TEENS

By Wendy Smith,

There is a growing concern regarding the dangers of social media platforms – especially the influence they have on our teens. The dark side of the internet should concern every parent. One area that poses a huge threat is sexting. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) defines sexting as the “sharing of sexually explicit images, videos, or messages through electronic means.”

The Internet Watch Foundation performed an online search for child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) in 2021. After reviewing 250,000 web pages, they reported finding 72% contained “self-generated CSAM,” that is, material that youth themselves generate. This represents a 163% increase over the previous year. Even more alarming was the report that the amount of self-generated CSAM of 7to 10-year-old children had increased 360% in the same time period.2

In a 2020 cybersecurity survey by Internet Matters, more than 75% of young respondents reported having had no negative results from sharing nude photos of themselves. However, they are dangerously naïve – photos can spread rapidly over the internet resulting in bullying at school, extortion (including exploitation through sex trafficking), and a ruined reputation for years. All of these things could impact future education, employment, and relationships. Once the photos hit the internet, it is impossible to track where they go, or to remove them.

Resources

Educate yourself and have meaningful discussions with your child; to learn more, here are a few resources:

Shared Hope International: Sexting Fact Sheet https://sharedhope.org/wp-content/ uploads/2021/04/Sexting_Fact_Sheet_4.8.21.pdf

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children: NetSmartz: Sexting https://www. missingkids.org/netsmartz/topics/sexting

References

1. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/ jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2673719

2. https://www.internetmatters.org/issues/ sexting/learn-about-sexting/

3. https://www.internetmatters.org/about-us/ sexting-report-look-at-me/

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