Exposing The Dangers of Sexting: How to Safeguard Your Children

It happened by accident. One of your teen’s friends accidentally sent the photo to your phone number. As you are stunned by what you see in the picture on your phone, your teen enters the room. They see the angry look on your face as they sit on the couch, ready for the coming tirade, and their mind works to come up with some type of legitimate excuse. So, What about The Dangers of Sexting?

Yet there is no legitimate excuse when catching your teen in a nude photograph sent over your cell phone. The only comfort you have at the moment is finding out about the sexting so no more nude photographs can be sent over everyone’s mobile devices. Yet you wonder what you can do besides grounding your teen for life to prevent such a thing from happening again.

Noticing The Signs of the Dangers of Sexting

Sometimes, it is not easy to find out your teen is sexting. Yet, as responsible parents, we need to take notice of the signs that something like this may be happening. Some signs to look for may include:

1. If you see your teen acting strangely embarrassed when you look at them.
2. If your teen keeps the door closed constantly, when you knock on the door, your teen will yell out not to come inside because they are getting dressed.
3. Your teen refuses to let you see their cell phone, or they hide it somewhere in their room so you can’t get to it.
4. Your teen suddenly changes their personality. They are wearing clothes you would deem a bit risque or sexy.
5. Your teen will not allow you to see what they are doing online, keep certain files password protected, or visit social networking sites that aren’t appropriate for them.

Vigilance is key in stopping your kids from texting inappropriate photographs. By noticing some of the above signs, you can take steps to find out what is wrong with your teen and try to stop the destructive behaviour before it starts.

Talking With Your Teen About The Dangers of Sexting

The best way to prevent your teen from sharing photos of themselves is to talk to them. This involves more than just telling them about the dangers of sexting. It also involves understanding why your teen wants to send photos of themselves over their cell phone.

Often, you will find out that their girlfriend or boyfriend is pressuring them to take sexy pictures. Another reason may be that someone in a peer group pretends to care about them and only wants photos to embarrass your teen later on.

Listen attentively to what your teen has to say, then tackle each of their reasons with a logical explanation. A calm and even tone is the best approach at the moment. Don’t try to ridicule your teen over their reasons for sexting. This will only cause them to feel resentful and shut out all of your advice. Instead, let them hear their arguments and your calm answers. In this manner, your teen can start putting the facts together to understand why sexting is so dangerous.

Once your teen opens up to listening to you about why their reasons for sending sexy photos of themselves over their cell phone is not a good idea, you can now explain to them the dangers of sexting. Focus on the following reasons.

The Dangers of Sexting: It Is Illegal

Sending any type of nude photography over any type of mobile or computer device is illegal when the person in the photograph is under the age of 18. It is considered trafficking child porn. Even if the photograph is of your teen and they sent it to someone else, they can receive criminal charges. Having possession of the photos falls under the criminal charges of possession, and distributing the photos across state lines is considered a federal offence.

Let your teen know that they can still be criminally charged even if the photos aren’t of themselves. They may have to register as sex offenders as this will have a negative impact on their entire lives.

Sexy Photos Can Be Shared Online

Your teen may believe only one or two people will see the sexy photos online. However, all camera applications on a cell phone can share photos on social media networks. With only a few presses on the touch screen, millions of unknown people can see your teen’s photo on the Internet.

The dangers of sexting are intense when an unwanted photo ends up on the Internet. It can be shared thousands of times between other people, and the teens cannot stop it from happening. Even if they try to delete it off the phone or the computer, there are still ways to retrieve it. People online may harass the teen, tease them, or make inappropriate comments that can damage their self-esteem.

Inform your teen that by sharing sexy photos, their life could be in real danger. There are people online who will seek out teens in sexy photos and proposition them for sexual favours. The person may kidnap the teen or trick them into meeting somewhere.

Sexy Photos Can Fall Into The Wrong Hands

Your teen must also realise that sexy photos can affect their future careers. No matter how old they become, they must deal with the fact that an employer may find the incriminating photos. This fact is just one of the dangers of sexting.

With more employers using Internet searches to screen potential employees, teens may find themselves passed up for great career positions due to a photo they shared during their teen years that made its way online. The photo can also harm their personal life if a spouse finds out about the shared sexy photos.

Your Teen Can Now Understand The Dangers of Sexting

Once your teen understands the dangers of sexting, both of you can take the proper steps to practice safe mobile cell phone use. The best way to do this is to show your teen how responsible you are with a mobile device. Teens learn by example and won’t learn to be careful with their phones if they see you being irresponsible when using one. Practice responsible cell safety and tell your teen to do the same.

Getting Your Teen To Practice Mobile Phone Safety

Now that your teen is on board with you about the dangers of sexting, you can help them make the right decisions about using their mobile phones. Help your teens make smart choices by using a simple checklist they should remember if they are being placed in a situation where somebody wants them to take sexy photos of themselves using their cell phone or to forward sexy photos of other people.

1. What Will Happen? Your teen needs to think about what will happen if they take sexy photos of themselves. Could they face embarrassment, humiliation, criminal charges, or a ruined reputation?
2. What Will People Who You Respect Think? Teens can have role models and friends they look up to positively. Have them think about how the sexy photos will negatively affect their relationships with their friends and role models.
3. What Is Done Cannot Be Undone: Your teen has to understand that once they hit the “send” or “share” button on their cell phones, they can’t undo their actions. Once they share photos with others, they will lose control of how that photo is shared and used.
4. What Happens When Faced With Criminal Charges? Your teen must take into consideration that they will eventually get caught by law enforcement for sharing child pornography. Your teen could face criminal charges, and they will have a criminal record hanging over them when going to college or seeking employment.

Whenever your teen faces the situation again, they can think about the above checklist to decide not to get involved with texting. It may take a few reminders and you staying on your toes. Yet you should see your teen taking all the information about sexting to heart.

What To Tell Your Teen If They Find Sexy Photos Sent To Them

Sometimes, your teen may find photos sent to them on the risque side. Don’t just immediately yell at your teen or accuse them of sexting. Remember, many people keep a contact list of people they like to call. If that person accessed that list to send the sexy photo to every person, your teen may have received the unasked photo by mistake.

Let your teen know that if they should receive sexy photos from someone, they should not share the photos with other people or delete them. Instead, your teen should talk to you immediately. If your teen cannot do this because they are at school, tell them to speak with a teacher or school counsellor they feel comfortable speaking with.

Your teen may, at first, balk at such a suggestion. They don’t want to be seen as a snitch about the photographs. You need to inform your teen about the consequences their friends could get into if they continue to share or post the sexy photos to other people. Let your teen know that if they cared about their friends, they should tell an adult about it.

Don’t sugarcoat your role in what is going to happen. As the adult, you will need to either contact the parents, the school administration or the police. By this time, your teen should understand the dangerous situation in regards to sexting. Their relationship with their friends may indeed end. Yet let them know that such negative influences should not be a part of your teen’s life.

Teach Your Teens About Values And Respect

After teaching your teens about the dangers of sexting and sending sexy photos over the Internet, now would be a great time to have a talk with your kids in regards to valuing and respecting their bodies and how sexting can devalue them. Let them know this is not how to get attention, belong to a peer group, or get a boyfriend/girlfriend.

The teen should come to understand that they should be seen as more than just sexual objects by other people. They should never expose themselves in such a way or allow others to intimidate them to do things they do not feel comfortable doing. Let your teen know that it is fine to tell other people “No,” and that their choice cannot be taken away from them when it involves dangerous behaviour such as sexting.

Also, talk with your children about respecting other people. Everyone has different values, ideals, and behaviours, and they may be different from other people. Just because other teens are different does not mean that the other teens need to be humiliated by the sending of racy or sexy photos of them. It is never okay to take photos of people in embarrassing situations, such as taking a photo when in the school’s changing room, just to share the photo and humiliate them.

When teens learn to respect each other and their values, they become responsible children who will grow into responsible adults. Teens are not born knowing all the rules about life or the growing technology around them. It is up to the parents to teach and show them what type of behaviour is acceptable and what type of behaviour is unacceptable.

Start by having meaningful conversations with your teens about the dangers of sexting. Once you both learn how to talk and listen to each other, it will be easier to address problems and dangerous situations in which your teen may find themselves. Your teen will have your trust, and you will be able to trust your teen to make the right decisions when it comes to taking sexy photos of themselves and sharing the photos with other people.

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