Is Your Teen a Porn Star?

When my daughter was a preteen she naively wanted to be a “fly girl” like Jennifer Lopez and the other female dancers on the popular comedy show In Living Color. However, no parent could ever imagine the shock of discovering your daughter is a teenage porn star or your teenage son has been arrested for child pornography. Yet, this is the brutal reality that is going on with children under the age of 18.

A recent study shows that one-fifth of all teens have participated, in one way or another, in sexting.[1] Sexting is a growing trend among teens and tweens that parents should be eager to prevent. For those who don't know, sexting refers to the exchanging of sexually explicit messages or nude photos and videos via mobile phones. Under current laws, participants can be charged with child pornography.

Most teens just consider sexting to be a sexy, funny or flirtatious message they send to a boyfriend or girlfriend, but it can have dire repercussions. Many of us remember when Vanessa L. Williams, the first African American crowned Miss America, received an anonymous phone call stating that nude photos of her taken by a photographer prior to her pageant days had surfaced. Williams' reign as Miss America came to an abrupt end when the scandal forced her to give up her title. Your teen probably remembers the contestant on American Idol that was released from the show after topless photos of her surfaced and were being posted all over the internet.

Unfortunately, today’s hi-tech multimedia devices have raised the stakes considerably. Not only can sexting ruin reputations, it can also get your teenager arrested for distributing child pornography, or put your child at risk to even graver consequences. An 18-year-old girl in Cincinnati committed suicide after a nude photo of her, sent by her boyfriend, was spread throughout her school. Child pornography charges were brought against six teenagers in Greensburg, Pennsylvania in January 2009 after three girls sent sexually explicit photographs to three male classmates.[2] In Fort Wayne, Indiana a teenage boy was indicted on felony obscenity charges for allegedly sending a photo of his private parts to several female classmates. Another boy was charged with child pornography in a similar case.[3] In Spotsylvania, Va., two boys, ages 15 and 18, were charged with solicitation and possession of child porn with intent to distribute after an investigation found they sought nude pictures from three juveniles — one in elementary school.[4]

"It's absolutely becoming a bigger problem," says Michelle Collins of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Of the 2,100 children the center has identified as victims of online porn, she says, one-fourth initially sent the images themselves.[5]

If you have a teen or preteen take some time this weekend to have a 21st century parent-child sex talk to explain the dangers and consequences of sexting. For information on how to protect your child from sexting, check out my upcoming blogs: Teaching Your Teen the Facts of Sexting and Teenage Sexting Statistics.

By the way, the state legislature in Vermont is considering making it legal for children between the ages of 13 and 18 to send such pictures to each other. Other states are also beginning to address the phenomenon of sexting. Should states legalize sexting for children? Post your thoughts on this subject; I would like to know what you think.

[1] “Sex and Tech: Results from a Survey of Teens and Young Adults”. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/sextech/PDF/SexTech_Summary.pdf
[2] "Sexting craze leads to child pornography charges". Guardian News and Media. 2009-01-14. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/14/child-pornography-sexting.
[3] Martha Irvine, Porn charges for 'sexting' stir debate, Associated Press (Feb. 4, 2009).
[4] Wendy Koch, Teens caught 'sexting' face porn charges, USA TODAY (Mar. 11, 2009).
[5] Ibid.