One in five has sent pornographic photos
One in five teens has sent explicit photographs of themselves through text messages or e-mail, and more than one-third say they know a friend who has, according to a new study on the growing phenomena of “sexting.”
Officials and parents say the pornographic exchanges — which often fall outside the law — are rising.
“You are going to see more and more cases, unfortunately,” said Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler’s spokeswoman, Raquel Guillory. “[The exchanges] are becoming so much more common, and particularly with minors.”
Girls are twice as likely to send “sexts” — nude or nearly-nude photographs of themselves — than boys, according to a Cox Communications report, which surveyed 665 teens between the ages of 13 and 18. Teen sexters typically send explicit photographs of themselves to a boyfriend or girlfriend, but one in every 10 admitted to engaging in sexting with a stranger, the report found.
Elizabeth Bradsher, a Fairfax mother of two, said the study underrepresents the proliferation of sexting.
“Every child has a phone now and every phone has the ability to take pictures,” said Bradsher, whose daughters are 15 and 20 years old. “My kids have seen the boys take pictures of girls in school. Girls will send lewd things, too. They laugh about it and think it’s funny.”
She said some girls “ask for it.”
“They are looking for attention,” she said. “They ask friends to take a picture of them and before you know it, it’s being forwarded on to everyone in school.”
In May, five Franklin County, Va., high school students were charged with felony counts of transmitting child pornography after a female student snapped lewd pictures of herself in a school bathroom with a male student’s phone — and the male student forwarded the photos to others.
One month earlier, Montgomery County police busted a Pyle Middle School studentwho was running a sexting business venture by renting out his iPod Touch for a peek at its photo library featuring nude female students.
“These are pictures that can live forever,” said Pat O’Neill, president of the Montgomery County School Board. “My kids said I was naive and foolish to be so shocked that it is happening in our community.”
Lawmakers in Virginia and Maryland recently killed bills that would have classified sexting as a punishable crime. Sexting can be prosecuted however, if the incident classifies as a dissemination of child pornography — which current laws in both states address.
Opponents of sexting legislation say classifying it as a misdemeanor or felony is too harsh a penalty for the juveniles who are the primary practitioners.
“At what point do you go after a kid for sending out a picture of his girlfriend?” Guillory asked. That’s what has stalled sexting measures in the past, she said, adding that she expects a renewed push from Gansler’s office this year to make sexting illegal.
“We absolutely would support a measure prohibiting it,” she said.
Too much information? The percentage of teens who have posted personal information online:
» 62:% Photos of self
» 49%: Photos of friends
» 45%: Name of school
» 41%: Current city
» 18%: Fake age
» 14%: Cell phone number
Top motives for sending sexts, by percentage
» 43%: Someone asked them to
» 40%: To have fun
» 21%: To impress someone
» 18%: To feel good about themselves
Source: Cox Communications Teen Online and Wireless Safety Survey
