Tuesday 25th January 2011 - Published by Robert Trigg - Communications Executive
‘Sexting’ – Are Your Children Doing It?
An internet safety expert is warning youngsters and their parents of the dangers which can arise from the craze of ‘sexting’. Penny Steinhauer, Director of internet training company Eye PAT Ltd, offers internet and mobile phone safety sessions to children and adults. Now, Penny wants to raise awareness of the problem of sexting - the sending of explicit messages or images via mobile phones:
“The internet and mobile communications are adult tools, yet we have handed them over to children without safeguards or training for the supervisors. After one of our sessions the parents and the teachers are under no illusions as to what the issues are and they know what steps to take to help keep their children safe.”
A recent MTV poll surveyed 1,247 young people between 14 and 24. Their results found that about a third had sexted, with 61% of those feeling pressured to do so. Alarmingly,12% of those who had engaged in sexting had considered suicide.
In America, a number of young people have committed suicide as a result of sexting. Teenagers like Jessie Logan, 18, from Cinncinati, Ohio, who sent nude pictures of herself to a boyfriend. When they broke up, the former boyfriend sent the pictures to other high school girls who bullied Jessie at school calling her derogatory and hurtful names.
In May 2008, Jessie hanged herself in her bedroom.
13-year-old Hope Witsell, from Florida, is another tragic example of the dangers of Sexting. Hope hanged herself in 2009 after topless photos circulated.
As well as the tragic consequences of sexting, the phenomena can also create criminal implications for the person who sends or receives these messages, as Penny warns:
“If you found that your 17-year-old son had been ‘sexted’ by a 15-year-old girl and she had sent an intimate picture of herself, would you know that he is technically in possession of child pornography?
If he then sends it on to all of his mates, as all too often happens, he is now technically guilty of distributing child pornography! If you know it has come from school, perhaps you might send it to the head. The head is now in possession and you have distributed it.”
Penny continues:
“So what can you do about it? How can we stop it? We can educate, we can talk, we can try and prevent it. At Eye Pat, we teach the children to look at the consequences of what they are doing and we educate teachers, parents and teenagers on what do to if they are sent these materials and how to help.”
Eye Pat has been providing internet safety training for over 18 months and the company have been liaising with Tim Loughton MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families.
Hope Witsell Age 13 hangs herself after sexting topless photos
