Fran Larson

Sexting: How Many Years Will Your Nude Pictures Show Up In Cyberspace?


Posted: Friday, June 04, 2010

by
http://www.franniesquotes.com/

(Definition: Sexting is the slang term for the use of a cell phone or other similar electronic device to distribute pictures or video of sexually explicit images. It can also refer to text messages of a sexually charged nature. (teenhealthabout.com)

You want to keep up with your peers and be hip. You think how fun it would be to take a nude picture of you or your friends. How harmful can it be? Shouldn’t teenagers ever have any fun? Before you hit that send button, remember these nude pictures will always be in cyberspace. Anything you send or post will never really go away. People can find your past posts or pictures very quickly.

What seems like a good idea right now may result in a pretty cloudy future. Texting is considered child pornography and the legal consequences are strict. You will be labeled a sex offender for life. That means you will have a hard time getting a job and if you do get one, there is a good chance you will not ever advance. That label will not go away. Admission applications at desired universities will be rejected. What happens in cyberspace will come back to haunt you and cannot be erased with a delete button.

Teen-age girls are pressured to send nude photos from their boyfriends or potential boyfriends. Hopefully, this temptation will be ignored because even though it seems cool at the time, as the weeks march on, people and especially boys and young men will look at you in a not so flattering way. Recently, a college freshman admitted after seeing nude pictures of the girls he knew, he could never look at them the same way again.

Remember that Pedophiles are on the lookout nude pictures and/or suggestive texting.. They electronically wander around cyberspace and will spend time with people who post these types of messages or images – or whose ‘friends’ post them for the teen. They will then begin texting or sending messages to someone like you. They are safe because they are at the other end and you don’t know who they are, how old they are, etc. Children and teens have been killed after arranging to meet a ‘friend of a friend’ they met on the Internet. You have no way of knowing the person encouraging you to text or sext is an adult pedophile.

Sexting may seem cool and fun today but think about the future. What goes in cyberspace stays in cyberspace and is considered pornography.

Francine Larson:

Co-Author of Character Keys to a Bright Future.

She is a freelance writer

See more articles by Francine Larson at:http://www.examiner.com/modern-love-in-tampa-bay/francine-larson

She also writes for The Highlands at Scotland Yards. She writes poetry and short stories.

This Article has been viewed 129 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)
» left by Linda DeWitt
 1 year 243 days ago.
The teen world of today seems to be a very frighting place compared to when we were growing up. I hope teens hear this message loud and clear. Good article Fran.
» left by Anonymous 1 year 243 days ago.

It does seem like today it would be more difficult to rear children.  I think the era when he grew up was much safer, but maybe we just hear more. Thanks for reading.

» left by Carol Allen Anfinsen
 1 year 242 days ago.
A very timely and well written article, Fran.
» left by Anonymous 1 year 242 days ago.

Thanks, so much Carol.

We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.