“OMG! Did u hear that Jesse James cheated on Sandra Bullock?! What a JERK! “

Image courtesy of TheKat11

This is one of many examples of texting that has made the availability and spread of information so easily transferable. While texting can be convenient, speedy and far-reaching, there is a form of texting called “sexting” that can become dangerous, damaging, and in some cases, illegal.

Sexting is defined as “the act of sending explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones.” It’s hard to believe that anyone would allow themselves to be exposed and pose potential embarrassment to themselves or another party, yet sexting affects a vast amount of adolescents who exchange risqué information carelessly without thinking about the consequences. In fact, 20% of teens (13 to 19) and 33% of young adults (20 to 26) claimed to have sent nude or semi-nude photographs of themselves electronically according to a 2008 Cosmogirl.com survey of 1,280 teenagers and young adults of both genders. Another 39% of teens and 59% of young adults from that survey had sent explicit text messages.

If you know someone a little more difficult to get through to, make mention of a legal case involving a 17-year-old girl sending nude pictures to her former boyfriend. After having an escalated fight, the pictures began to circulate at their high school and the girl was the one charged as an “unruly child” based on her juvenile status. That may steer them away from sexting!

Teenagers are not the only culprits as many adults have been “caught in the act” of sexting. Case in point, take recent scandals involving Tiger Woods and another with Jesse James who both, through sexting, were exposed by their mistresses to be cheating on their wives. The damage plagued not only the sender of the messages but their entire families and careers.

The media also has acknowledged the relevance of sexting in today’s society and incorporated it into television programs such as Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and the new generation of 90210. Ludacris even has a bonus song entitled “Sexting” featured on his new album, “Battle of the Sexes.” Newspapers and Web sites employ the term “sexting” regularly in article titles such as, “Joslyn James Denies Provoking Tiger Woods Sexting, Promises More Sordid Details Shortly” from Thehollywoodgossip.com. This exposure to the relatively new term prompts me to believe it will be in this year’s edition of the dictionary.

Behind all of the media hoopla and scandals, the message is clear. No matter how many abbreviations and acronyms are used; “Sxting in soooo not kewl…B safe & b smart! ”

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We are currently living in a culture where oral sex has become as commonplace as a goodnight kiss. Where sixth grade girls look sixteen and act like they are twenty. This year exotic dancer Halloween costumes sold out on one popular costume site: in child’s size 4-6.There are undercover “drug rings” selling the morning after pill and birth control in middle schools. This is a culture where sexy replaces smart, and to be anything but is unaccepted.

“If you’re a slut guys will give you attention; if you’re a prude no one will.” I was leading a leadership and empowerment group for middle school girls; this was what one of my eight graders said. The rest nodded their heads in agreement. These girls come from comfortable backgrounds; have designer handbags and country club memberships. The issue of teenage sexualization affects all economical classes, and families; and the parents who think they are not at risk, most likely already have children engaging in these hypersexual behaviors.

Lexi, a seventh grader, got suspended from school for “sexting” a high school boy. Her father is a lawyer and mom is the PTA vice president. The only way to prevent this epidemic from continuing is by creating awareness, and being the positive role models girls need now more than ever. The result: more educated and self-confident students who take on leadership roles and gain the knowledge needed to make healthy choices.

As many of you are aware, popular culture and technology provide all of us with an immense amount of mixed messages regarding self worth and sexuality, but now this is targeting girls at earlier ages than ever before. Combined with information shared by peers and insufficient discussions with their parents, kids today are left to make these important choices on their own, especially teenage girls.

The psychological ramifications are more extreme than we once thought and media influences can be the precursor to many psychological issues. Many studies associate low self-esteem, sexual promiscuity, eating disorders, violence, depression, anxiety, self-mutilation, and even teenage suicide to popular culture influences and peer pressure.

The seriousness of these issues has caught the eye of American Psychological Association (APA) who in 2007, developed a task force to combat media sexualization and to inform the public of the effects that it has on our youth. They report that sexualization of girls occurs within three interrelated spheres:

1. The contribution by society, cultural norms expectations, and values that are communicated through many avenues including media that encourage sexualization as being good and normal.

2. An interpersonal contribution- girls are treated and encouraged to be sexual objects by those around them and society.

3. Self-Sexualization- girls treat and experience themselves as sexual objects. This is down through conditioned sexual behavior and appearance that have been rewarded by society and peers.

As detached from this age group as you may feel, you are never too far away from them. They are your consumers, your nieces, your cousins, your siblings, and most importantly your future daughters. We interact with these girls everyday, and the one thing we can do is be their positive role models. We can show them that smart is sexy, and self-respect is even more so.

Pictures courtesy of Teamsugar and Parenttalktoday

American psychological association, oral sex, Precocious and Promiscuous, PTA, self-sexualization, sexting, sexual objects, teenage girls Hide