But what started out as risqu? Recently, teenagers have been arrested on child pornography charges and there have been reports of high-schoolers losing jobs or college scholarships as a result of being identified in sexually-suggestive pictures that have appeared on the internet. Research conducted by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy last month revealed that 20 per cent of teens in the States say they have sent or posted lewd photos or video of themselves. According to the national study, most teenagers. Subscription Notification. We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. Please update your billing details here. Please update your billing information.
Dr. Laura Markham is the author of three best-selling books
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Though youth is fleeting, images sent on a cell phone or posted online may not be, especially if they're naughty. Teenagers' habit of distributing nude self-portraits electronically - often called "sexting" if it's done by cell phone - has parents and school administrators worried. Some prosecutors have begun charging teens who send and receive such images with child pornography and other serious felonies. But is that the best way to handle it? A teenage boy there is facing felony obscenity charges for allegedly sending a photo of his private parts to several female classmates. Another boy was recently charged with child pornography in a similar case. In some cases, the photos are sent to harass other teens or to get attention.
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Research shows that virtually all kids who are allowed to keep their cell phone in their room overnight will answer a late-night text, and most of them have spent at least some late nights sending texts. Studies show that the pressure to send "sexy" photos via phone sexting begins in the fifth grade, on average. The average age of first pornography exposure is around age 8. Half of all kids say they are addicted to their cell phones and worry that they use them too much. Their parents agree, and 36 percent of parents say they have daily arguments with their children about their phones.
Offer does not apply to e-Collections and exclusions of select titles may apply. Offer expires December 31, Browse Titles. What is Sexting 1. Relates to the exchange of sexually explicit content online or via mobile phones and smartphones. It may overlap with cyberbullying, e. Learn more in: Children, Risks, and the Mobile Internet. Sexting refers to the practice of digitally producing and sharing nude, semi-nude or sexually explicit self-portraits and text messages using a cell phone or another digital device.
