Even though teen sexting has been a concern of many parents, educators and lawmakers for quite awhile, a new study shows how long-lasting the effects of sexting can truly be.
Photo: Shawn Rossi
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a United Kingdom-based organization, recently released their data on the long-term problems that teen sexting can present for youth who take explicit pictures of themselves.
Sexting is the term used for sharing sexually revealing pictures of yourself online. The IWF study discovered that 88% of a portion of explicit pictures and videos uploaded by juveniles made it onto websites other than the ones they were originally found on—in less than a week’s time.
In other words, a teen could sext a picture of himself to a friend or post a picture on his blog, but that same picture might easily end up on a pornographic website elsewhere. Additionally, the study showed that once a picture has been copied to another site deleting it is nearly impossible.
While it might seem fun and exciting now, teen sexting can come back to haunt you later. Think before you send any info—pictures or words—to another individual. Once out, you can’t take them back.
Parents need to talk to their kids about the problems relating to teen sexting. Kids have enough worries in this world without adding to them by getting themselves in legal, school or personal trouble.
If you are the parent of a kid being investigated for or charged with sexting, take time to contact a Utah juvenile defense attorney. Do your child a favor and get him the help he needs.
