Sexting Tragedy

Cynthia Logan is much like any other mother - loving and supportive. Her daughter, Jesse, was very much like most other 18 year olds-ready to grab the world by its tail. Unfortunately, Jesse got caught up in a Generation Text moment and pushed the send button on her cell phone transmitting a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. It was the beginning of the end for this beautiful and promising teen. The couple eventually broke up and her photo was sent to hundreds of other teenagers in several schools. For a full year following the betrayal of what she considered to be intimate privacy between her and her boyfriend, Jesse was teased, ridiculed, and bullied to the point where she decided to take her own life by hanging. Her courageous mother appeared on the Today Show ( http://tinyurl.com/btg9r6) to talk about her daughter and the dangers of the new fad called "sexting."

A recent study indicated that 20% of teenagers have sent nude or partially nude photographs of themselves using their cell phone. My prediction is that if sexting is like other online or mobile phone activities, it will catch on like wildfire which will increase that percentage rapidly. What becomes common becomes familiar. What becomes familiar becomes normal.
Today's teens are growing up in a world where texting, blogging, and posting messages on social networking sites is just the norm. They have become so desensitized to techno-communicating that there is no consideration for the implications of what they send. Nor do they think about the permanence of their transmissions. Nude pictures, sexual messages, and harassing statements do not vaporize and disappear. They are permanently fixed in the cyberworld and easily retrieved from the hardware that receives them.
Parents and kids need to realize that the cell phone is a privilege-not a right. Just like when you hand over the keys to your car to your teenager, it can be a convenience that facilitates and enhances their social life, or it can be a weapon that kills them if they are not given appropriate limits and monitoring. Cell phones should be treated just like cars. Warnings about their use and specific do's and don'ts should be part of the agreement when it is given to them. Just as parents will think nothing of reminding their teen to drive safely when they leave the house, parents also need to periodically remind their kids about being careful with their phone and Internet use.

If you have a "not my kid" attitude I suggest you take a look at the Today Show link. Jesse could be anybody's kid.