SEXTING: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

SEXTING

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

Faye Cole Design: Jess Scrivener

Sexting. We all know someone who has, or is, sending or receiving sexually explicit messages. It is now common for members of our age group to exchange body shots or body part pictures. Why do we do it? According to dosomething.org, 40% of teens send a sext for a joke, 34% send naked images or arousing messages to feel sexy, 12% do it because they feel pressured and some engage in sexting to get someone to like them back. While there is no shame in this, Tag ‘21 is here to help you be aware of the potential consequences if you decide to DM your intimate pics.

The law states that “anyone who has or sends indecent images of someone under the age of 18 is breaking the law”. This means sexual pictures of school pupils and many college-age students are in fact illegal. Plus “Both having and distributing images” of this nature is an offence under "17% OF SEXTERS SHARE THE MESSAGES THEY RECEIVE WITH OTHERS."

the Sexual Offences Act 2003. Encouraging someone to take or send ‘sexts’ can also be illegal. Strictly speaking, we shouldn’t be sexting if we’re not old enough to drink alcohol.

Once an image has been taken and sent, the sender has no control over what happens to it and it could be forwarded to anyone. This can be an issue if it ends up in the wrong hands, such as if a couple split up and one person decides to get the other back by sharing their photos with their friends or family (known as revenge porn). Before you take a picture, it is advisable to think, would you be happy for your parents, colleagues, teacher, friends or a police officer to see it?

Tag ‘21 spoke to Lily Adams, who was 17 when she met her boyfriend, Charlie. He was older and more experienced sexually. She’d known him for a year or two prior to them getting close, so she really felt like she knew the kind of person he was. Lily was a bit insecure. Throughout the month of them getting more intimate, she felt as if he was going to lose interest because she didn’t know what she was doing. Then Lockdown started and the only way to be intimate was over the phone. Charlie would send photo after photo, explaining in graphic detail what he wanted to do with or to her. She was flattered and sent a picture back. One photo turned to two, two into three, to a point where she didn’t even know if it was only double digits any more. For five months, there was no sign of anything being wrong or any sign of trust being broken. Until a bad breakup resulted in Charlie sending Lilly’s photos to his friends to show what he once had. This led to a dramatic drop in Lilly’s self esteem and now she has trust issues. She told Tag ‘21 she goes to bed every night, worried about who has her photos and whether this will change her future.

Sexting is a huge phenomenon among our generation and many continue to do it even with the dangers it presents to us. Tag ’21 spoke to Megan Sinclair (18)

"DONT FEEL PRESSURED TO DO ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT TO DO!"

from Shinewater. “I have had both good and bad experiences when it comes to sexting. However I feel that if sexting is done between two consenting adults, who are both getting something out of the experience, sexting can be a fun, bonding thing to do with your partner that can bring you closer together.” She spoke about sexting for long distance relationships. “If you are both consenting adults that live far away from each other, it can be a good way of making up for the bonding time you have missed. It can [also] be a good way of communicating what each other wants if you feel embarrassed to say [it] face-toface [...] you can then put these things into practice next time you see each other in real life.”

As growing individuals, we develop and learn new things about ourselves, which may be a result of life experiences, talking to others and our relationships. As with all sexual matters, it is your body, your choice. Just as the digital world is developing, so are our minds and bodies. Be safe.