Sexy texts: Teenage prank or a serious problem?

My brother sent me an email a couple of weeks ago with a link to a news story about a teenager in a nearby county who is being prosecuted in juvenile court for sending nude photos of herself to her boyfriend over her cell phone. When they broke up, the boy then forward the pics to his buddies. The newspaper doesn’t say if this was retaliation for being dumped or justification for doing the dumping. Either way, the boy is a creep.

But the story doesn’t say if the boy is in trouble; only that the girl is being held accountable for distribution of illegal child pornography. In case you aren’t aware, using a cell phone to distribute nude photos of minors is against the law, even if you’re the one in the photo.

The practice of sending dirty pics is known as “sexting.” My brother thinks it reflects bad judgment and immaturity on the part of teens and should be treated as a disciplinary problem, not a criminal one that requires law enforcement and public funds for prosecution. He raises the point that “sexting” crimes are handled inconsistently from county to county (there now being so many that we can compare their disposition), and that it’s unfair for this act of poor judgment to be treated like a foolish prank in one jurisdiction and a serious crime in another.

But make no mistake, “sexting” is serious. It’s not a prank – even if it originates from a bold and brazen teen sending illicit photos of herself to a boyfriend.  I would argue that there isn’t a teen in America who doesn’t know that this practice is at least inappropriate, even if she doesn’t appreciate the criminal nature of her actions. (I say she because, sadly, girls are the ones more often originating the material, which then is widely disseminated).

In fact, being arrested and prosecuted for distribution of child porn might be the best outcome. What’s worse is the case of Jessica Logan, an Ohio teen whose nasty self-portrait circulated from her ex-boyfriend’s phone to dozens of phones of fellow schoolmates – girls, actually. She was then labeled by other girls (words that rhyme with gore and glut) and brutally harassed. She didn’t confide in her parents but instead sank into a deep depression, culminating in her suicide. Her grieving mom now is making the media rounds to inform parents of the dangers of “sexting” and warn them to keep an eye out for the symptoms of depression.

Perhaps being caught and brought into the legal system may have helped Jessica get the counseling she obviously needed. I would argue anyone who sends such a text message in the first place is screaming for attention and support.

Let me say here that the system needs to hold the receivers of such texts accountable as well, especially if they forward the photos to others. It’s not OK to exploit someone simply because she exploited herself to begin with. Perhaps if Jessica’s photos had been brought to the attention of school officials, the harassment and humiliation could have been brought under control, even if the girl had had to suffer some consequences for her actions.

But then again, probably not. Jessica is an example of how dangerous it is to get caught up in a “prank” that crushes a teenager’s spirit, corrupts her innocence and forever changes her reputation and her self-image.

“Sexting” a big deal. We ought not minimize it.