Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Unlimited Sexting: What to Do About Teens and Their Dumb Naked Photos of Themselves

vanblah · 02-17-2009, 09:12 AM

I think one major problem is context. Is the kid in question an otherwise "good" kid that made a questionable judgment call? Is the kid a "bad" kid on the road to worse problems? Was the kid exploited?

We lump all these people into one category and expect the "law" to deal with it. What we end up doing is creating more people who are ashamed and repressed. We end up creating victims and predators. These kids don't need any kind of legal intervention (unless they were exploited in some way). If the kid is not aware of the possible outcome of this kind of behavior (self-made nude photographs) then there is something wrong. The parents did not do their job.

Do I think that teenagers should be photographing themselves nude? No. However, what's the difference between a 13-15 year-old taking nude photos of themselves and an 18+ year-old? Really ... when it gets down to it ... nothing. They are doing it for the same reasons: attention and "kicks." Unless there is an adult taking the photographs there's really no difference. Maturity? I'm pretty sure that a teenager taking nude photographs is well aware of the possible outcome ... possibly MORESO than an adult--especially, if their parents have been honest with them about sexuality. There is more to the "sex talk" than just the penis and vagina relationship. The sex talk needs to include broken hearts and angry ex-lovers and jealousy. It needs to include love and commitment and devotion. Choices.

Some people will say that the pictures might fall into the wrong hands or be spread all over the internet by "immature" friends or jilted lovers.

Wait a minute ... there are ENTIRE websites devoted to just that sort of thing (for photographs of adults). There are websites devoted to adults being "exploited" not just jilted lovers posting nude photos of their ex-lovers (even non-consensual photographs). I don't think it has much to do with maturity.

Teenagers are sexual beings ... hell, my daughter is 7 and she's starting to explore (and has been for a few years now). They are going to do whatever they can to experiment with that sexuality.

This latest media generated craze (sexting) is just another diversion in a long line of diversions. It has more to do with protecting parents from having to deal with their rapidly maturing children than protecting the children themselves.

Again, I'm at work so my thoughts might seem a little random as I keep getting interrupted. I apologize.

02-17-2009, 09:12 AM	#10 (permalink)
vanblah Junkie	I think one major problem is context. Is the kid in question an otherwise "good" kid that made a questionable judgment call? Is the kid a "bad" kid on the road to worse problems? Was the kid exploited? We lump all these people into one category and expect the "law" to deal with it. What we end up doing is creating more people who are ashamed and repressed. We end up creating victims and predators. These kids don't need any kind of legal intervention (unless they were exploited in some way). If the kid is not aware of the possible outcome of this kind of behavior (self-made nude photographs) then there is something wrong. The parents did not do their job. Do I think that teenagers should be photographing themselves nude? No. However, what's the difference between a 13-15 year-old taking nude photos of themselves and an 18+ year-old? Really ... when it gets down to it ... nothing. They are doing it for the same reasons: attention and "kicks." Unless there is an adult taking the photographs there's really no difference. Maturity? I'm pretty sure that a teenager taking nude photographs is well aware of the possible outcome ... possibly MORESO than an adult--especially, if their parents have been honest with them about sexuality. There is more to the "sex talk" than just the penis and vagina relationship. The sex talk needs to include broken hearts and angry ex-lovers and jealousy. It needs to include love and commitment and devotion. Choices. Some people will say that the pictures might fall into the wrong hands or be spread all over the internet by "immature" friends or jilted lovers. Wait a minute ... there are ENTIRE websites devoted to just that sort of thing (for photographs of adults). There are websites devoted to adults being "exploited" not just jilted lovers posting nude photos of their ex-lovers (even non-consensual photographs). I don't think it has much to do with maturity. Teenagers are sexual beings ... hell, my daughter is 7 and she's starting to explore (and has been for a few years now). They are going to do whatever they can to experiment with that sexuality. This latest media generated craze (sexting) is just another diversion in a long line of diversions. It has more to do with protecting parents from having to deal with their rapidly maturing children than protecting the children themselves. Again, I'm at work so my thoughts might seem a little random as I keep getting interrupted. I apologize.