Sexting

I was going to write a blog about youngsters and their addiction to texting, when I saw the Dr Phil show on Sexting instead of Texting. OMG.. It was pretty awful for everybody who was involved. This young girl (12) had sent a digital photograph of herself, partially naked (her face was not included in the picture) to a potential boyfriend. She wanted him to like her and she felt sending the picture was the right thing to do to make him love her. The boy - probably aroused by his hormones - was so happy with the picture, that he forwarded it to several friends of his. Of course the girl found out and realized what a stupid mistake she had made.. She was terrified the picture would end up on the Internet and she tried to kill herself. She could no longer cope and was convinced she could never ever lead a normal life again. What a relief to hear that her suicide attempt failed. She's alive. She's hurt, she's emotionally damaged and she quit school for the rest of the year. Her family and the families of the boys involved are damaged as well.

Have things changed that much from our days? I don't know. We did pretty stupid stuff at our age (not at the age of 12, but 14-15 is not that far off), but the consequences were not that dramatic. There were no cell phones, there was no Internet. If that technology had been available back then, so would sexting have been.

Do you know what your children do with their mobile phones? Do they have access to the Internet on their cell phone or computer? Have you talked to them about abuse and pornography and sex offenders? Don't think your teens are stupid. They know more than we think and they may be more experienced in life than we wish..