Teens are sexting now more than ever. What is sexting? According to Wikipedia, “Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones.”
Why has sexting become so popular, and how do teens view this type of behavior? Unsurprisingly, there is a wide range of attitudes, from those who think sexting is just an innocent way of keeping in touch to those who describe it as sinful and disgusting.
Is there something positive in sexting? According to some teens, sexting is a way to express your feelings, even to graphically show that you love another person. Some teens feel that sexting is safe because they can’t get pregnant and can’t get a sexually transmitted disease. In sexting there is no physical contact.
For some teens, sexting has become a way to get a guy’s attention. But if a guy or girl is sexting with you, how do you know if that person is also sexting with other people? It doesn’t unless it has access to that person’s mobile phone.
If a girl sends pictures of her breasts to a guy she likes, how does she know that he is looking at the pictures alone? she doesn’t. Many guys who receive these sexting messages are likely to share the images with their friends. Remember, some guys like to show off and show off. If you are the one who sent those photos to the wrong guy, it is possible that the images will be published on the Internet.
Some sexters think these images are impersonal because they are just an image. But if it’s a photo of you, in a compromising position or totally naked, it’s not just a photo, it’s erotic or even pornographic. And if someone over the age of 18 exchanges sexting images with someone under the age of 18, there is the potential for criminal charges.
Relationships have been challenged and destroyed just by the fact that a couple found out that another man or woman was befriending their intimate partner on a social networking site like Facebook. Imagine how much more devastating it is for an intimate partner to discover one of these sexting images, and some lewd sensual text to accompany the photo.
If a sexting image goes viral, it can never be recovered or deleted. What happens when that innocent “game” is discovered by a potential employer or a new client or your parents? The ramifications, later on at totally unexpected times, can be quite self-destructive. Sexting may just be a phase to get over, but the damaging aftermath can have long-lasting consequences.