The Modern Controversy of ‘Sexting’

Sending messages and/or images of a sexual nature through cell phones and the Internet has become a serious problem in American culture, affecting lives quicker than anyone saw coming. ‘Sexting’ cases are spilling into law offices, police records, and newspapers. According to Nancy Rommelmann, author of “Anatomy of a Child Pornographer,” sexting is defined as the “growing trend of the exchange of nude photographs over cellular telephones or Internet among teenagers” (Rommelmann 30). Through the analysis of individual case studies, interviews, academic articles, and legislation of the past and present, the secrets behind sexting will be revealed leaving us with essential changes for not only the national government, but state legislation, as well as school administrators, and parents/legal guardians. If proper changes are put into effect we can begin to battle the new teenage epidemic, saving countless reputations with the possibility of saving lives as well.

What's the worst that could happen?
My first example of sexting negatively affecting someone’s life is Jessica Logan, age 18. She sent out an image of her nude body to her boyfriend with the hopes that his eyes would be the only ones to grace the shot. Those same hopes were shattered into pieces when she was thrown into a whirlwind of taunts when she went to school the next day; slut, porn queen, whore, the whole nine. Teenagers can be relentless with their words, and with Jessica they absolutely were. Cincinnati Enquirer writer, Cindy Kranz, tells that within days the risky photograph “was sent to hundreds of teenagers in at least seven different Greater Cincinnati high schools” Kranz 1). Though described by her friends as a person who could stand up for anyone at any moment in time, Jessie found herself alone and incapable of fighting for herself. Her mother was quoted saying, “ I think when you’re constantly knocked down, you lose your self esteem” (qtd. In Kranz 1). Her social life turned inward and Jessie was constantly filled with pain and regret. The student began missing classes frequently but was still able to graduate on time. On July 3rd, not long after the explicit picture was sent Jessica’s mother found her hanging in her bedroom. “There sat her phone. Her straightener was hot. She was ready to go out. I don’t know what happened. It was impulsive, like she snapped all of a sudden. You have all this weight, and it was just one more thing” (Kranz 7).
After losing their only child Albert and Cynthia Logan, in their attempt to educate other children and parents, had plenty to say about how the situation was handled.
Mrs. Logan holding a photograph of her daughter that she will never be able to touch again.

“It’s a national epidemic and nobody is doing anything – no schools, police officers, no adults, no attorneys, no one” (Kranz 7). The Logan’s attorney, Parry Aftab also had a mouth full to say about how the educational system played their cards, or lack there of.

Schools need to understand our kids are targeting each other and how technology is being used as a weapon. None of the schools know what to do. Many of them… think it’s not their problem They want to close their eyes and put fingers in their ears, saying it’s a home issue. (Kranz 1)

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Jessica Logan's story, as covered by the Today Show

"When Privates Go Public"
As ‘out there’ as this situation may seem to some it is becoming a true problem in local communities nationwide, as well as in the media. MTV’s special news presentation of “Sexting in America: When Privates Go Public” did an excellent job representing just how frequently this new epidemic is striking. It seems to be a part of everyday life; present in shows such as 90210 and Degrassi, in Movies such as American Pie, and a laundry list of celebrities have been caught in the act as well; including Tiger Woods, Paris Hilton, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Greg Oden, the previous Miss California Carrie Prejean, and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz (MTV News).

MTV Shows

Part one of MTV News Special

With the amount of publicity teens are being bombarded with on the topic, how would they ever be able to identify the “thin line between private flirtation and public humiliation” (MTV News). Is sexting an ‘okay’ thing to do? Are their consequences? Who would get in trouble for the sending of an image? It is quite easy to see how the youth of America could come up with these questions, but how is it possible that we are leaving them with no answers when the problem is reoccurring at an astounding rate?

"Two second decision to mess up my whole life"
The case of 16 year-old Alex Davis of New York state begins to answer these very questions. After receiving pictures from 14 year-old Laurie of herself in her bra and panties, and then just her panties, he asked for more. This seemingly harmless act of hormones turned into what Alex now calls “the little two second decision to mess up my whole life” (Rommelmann 30).
After complaining of bad reception on his cell phone Laurie agreed to send the images to his e-mail account. Within a day the images had leaked onto the Internet catching the eyes of many viewers, including Laurie’s mother. While Alex wanted to apologize, Laurie’s mother deemed that an apology would be more than insufficient (Rommelmann 31). “Later he would learn he was one of four boys who had received snapshots from Laurie and from whose computers the images had, like mononucleosis, spread exponentially” (Rommelmann 32). But for now, there was a police officer at his door, asking him to write and sign his statement. He was told that charges were “pending.” His case puts emphasis on the serious consequences of sexting. Alex’s attorney explains, “We’re talking about C, D, and E-level felonies. A C-level is a mandatory minimum of three and a half years in a state prision and up to 15. In our system, Alex wasn’t a juvenile. He was a youthful offender. If you’re 16 or older, you’re treated as an adult” (Rommelmann 33). With threats of three felonies looming over his head Alex was rightfully nervous for his charges to be announced. Several months after the incident happened, “Alex Davis was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a Class A misdemeanor that doesn’t require serving time,” or registering as a sex offender (Rommelmann 34). Alex was not guilty of anything but raging hormones, something to be expected from a 16 year-old boy. Not only was Alex’s reputation and record at stake but Laurie’s could have been as well. “The Davises could have agitated for a charge against Laurie of disseminating indecent materials to minors in the second degree – a class E felony- but they declined” (Rommelmann 33). With the laws that are currently in place it is very possible that today’s youth will be severely punished like sex offenders that they are not.

SHOW ME

The practice of sexting might be considered relatively harmless, the 21st-century version of
"you show me yours, I’ll show you mine," if it weren’t for federal and state laws that deal harshly with those who traffic in child pornography. The federal statute criminalizes the production, distribution, and possession of images depicting underage subjects engaged in sexually explicit conduct; depending on the charges, it mandates sentences of five to 30 years in prison. Because the technology that allows sexting is new, age-appropriate punishments have yet to be hammered out. Instead, laws designed to thwart middle-aged people who prey on children are being applied to the children themselves. (Rommelmann 31)

So, with legislation at a stand still how can we handle this enormous difficulty technology has presented us with? Samuel McQuade, of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Center for Multidisciplinary Studies, puts it best, saying,

Schools are really struggling at the policy level, as are the courts, to establish a body of case law and guiding principles for what is acceptable. The last thing we want to do for youth is to clog up our juvenile justice systems with the massive amounts of computer-enabled crime. It’s not possible to do it, nor would you want to do it. The answer is through education. (qtd. in Rommelmann 33)

Who can HELP?
As mentioned before, we must lean on our administrators to not only put together the proper changes, but also to enforce them. Who are these administrators though? These can be people ranging from quite a wide variety. State officials, such as senators, governors, mayors, city officials are all important. It is their responsibility to voice the public’s opinion and acquire the laws we need in place. Next in this wide variety is the school, from superintendents and principals, to teachers and school officers; this group is in charge of educating young people of the consequences of their actions and putting in place proper disciplinary actions. The last group is the parents, or legal guardians in the household. This group must make sure that they are enforcing the rules and regulations that the other two groups of administrators have put in place while keeping open communication with their child/children.

There is an eternity of work to be done when it comes to regulations dealing with the rapid increase of technology but that does not mean that it can be overlooked, which is what is happening now. These very administrators see a hard situation ahead of us, one that requires time and effort. This problem is going unseen. This nation, in regards to sexting, is leading the youth down the wrong road. The newest technology, capable of anything and everything, has been placed in their hands and it is expected that they act as mature people that they have not grown to be yet. In an interview with Erika Lindenauer, a junior at Ohio University, she expresses that,

“at that age you don’t even see right or wrong. Your boyfriend asks for a picture and it’s almost expected. Boys will be boys I guess. Plenty of people I know have experienced this and have sent pictures. You don’t think of the consequences because at that age you don’t even know they exist.” (Lindenauer)

It would be very shallow of our society to think that kids are going to stop being kids. Sexting may be a modern word but this act has been around for years, just without the booming technology. Young people have been caught doing equivalent things plenty of times before. The problem now is that it can all be traced and these acts are punishable under laws made during a time where sexting could have never existed with the technology at hand. It is time to update! Some schools are trying to twiddle their thumbs and act as though they don’t see what is going on while other schools are getting too involved and are getting themselves into trouble. Sara Boucek, author of “Dealing with the Nightmare of ‘Sexting’ illustrates this by saying.

Administrators and boards of education struggle with disciplining students for such actions when policies and procedures have not kept pace with the rapid changes in technology. Administrators face additional challenges in investigating these incidents in compliance with state laws while avoiding personal criminal liability for actions such as failing to report the incident under a state mandatory reporting law or receiving and possessing the photograph, potentially in violation of child pornography laws. (Boucek 10)

With a set of standard regulations cases such as Jessica’s and Alex’s could be avoided, or could have, at the very least, been dealt with in a way that cut out the anxiety and feelings of desperation.

Conclusion
It is important for older people, unfamiliar with these actions, to remember that this is a trend. This exploitation is not being done by a single person, but by the masses. The technology at hand has presented America’s youth with tools that when combined with teenage hormones can be a deadly mix. With teens believing that there are no consequences for their actions they are in an incredible need for guidance and support. Administrators of varying sort have a lot on their plate, but this is what they have been elected/appointed to do. It is time for a change. Without an update to our current legislation we are setting this generation of teens up for failure, as well as future generations. It’s time we, as the American society, begin to be proactive about this situation instead of reactive.




Annotated Bibliography

Boucek, Sara. “Dealing with the Nightmare of ‘Sexting’.” Education Digest 75.3
(2009): 10-12. Print.
This article brings us information ranging from defining sexting to how school administrators should handle this new age technological problem. It stresses the importance of educating the youth and those people in charge of them. That is the exact information I needed from this article; what schools could do for change.

Kranz, Cindy. “Nude Photo Led to Suicide.” Cincinnati Enquirer. 22 March 2009: .1-4.
Print.
This article from Cincinnati Enquirer highlights a news story that hit close to home last year. A female from a neighboring high school committed suicide in 2009 because of a sexting case. This article helps my essay relate to my audience (in my hometown).

Lindenauer, Erika. Personal Interview. 15 Feb. 2010.
This source is an interview with a friend of mine. She is a student at Ohio University. It offers a look into the thoughts of an everyday, real person and how she sees this issue. I’m using the interview to make my essay more personalized.

Rommelmann, Nancy. “Anatomy of a Child Pornogropher.” Reason 41.3 (2009): 30-
37. Print.
This article from Reason goes into another case of sexting gone bad, this time in the state of New York. It discusses how technology has blown past legislation and the laws set up to protect children are now hurting them. I plan on using this information to highlight the laws in effect now and what improvements could be made for the future.

“Sexting in America: When Privates Go Public.” MTV News. MTV Networks. 14 Feb.
2010. Television.
I viewed this source on television. It was an MTV News special that is part of their multi-year campaign to deter teenagers to engage in the act of sexting and to help them understand the consequences. This source offers more individualized examples and information offered on a different medium.