AWARENESS: Amidst ubiquitous technological connections, sexting has become a serious legal and hazardous issue for teens.
By Matt Kaye, News Editor
In an era where virtually everyone stays connected through convenient and readily-available technology, it is easy to stay in touch with a multitude of people. This connection keeps interpersonal relationships strong, but in providing the power of ever-present contact, the modern age may be posing too much of a threat for teenagers—a threat of both a legal and abusive nature.
Defined by the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, “sexting refers to an act of sending sexually explicit materials through mobile phones.” While it may be common and easily recognizable, its legal consequences are not as apparent.
Federal law defines child pornography as an all-encompassing material that includes the visual depiction of any person under the age of 18 conforming to sexual conduct, often seen among teenagers in the form of sexting. There is no restriction based off of mutual consent, relationship status or any other reason which a legal body will accept. Simply possessing provocative photographs of a minor, even of one’s self, can land a person in prison for three years or a spot on the sex offender registry.
Roughly 40 percent of teenagers have admitted to sending or receiving sexually explicit text or multimedia messages. With sexting so common in the adolescent age group, many have come to accept that it is a normal practice. “There is always a rumor of scandalous photos floating between people in a relationship,” Poly student Veronica Poston (10) confirmed. Whether or not this activity is harmless is still questionable, but what can be asserted is the risk a teenager takes when engaging in such activity. Poston continued, “Then those photos [are] being leaked into the population of our school or even outside of the school.”
In recent years, there have been many cases where real sexual predators have obtained the photographs of consenting minors. In the case of David Weaver, a middle-aged Wisconsin resident accused of producing child pornography, he was able to entice over 100 teenagers into sending him explicit photographs and videos, connecting the amenable behavior of minors to the dangers of child exploitation.
However, of the 40 percent who have admitted to receiving photographs or videos sexual in nature, only 17 percent end up forwarding these messages to others3. This has led many teenagers to question why legal action is so severe, fixating on how specific the law is in the consideration of age. “I think if the [people are] comfortable with sending pictures of themselves to others, it is their business only (…) no matter how old they are,” seventeen-year-old Jade Valenciano (11) stated. Federal prosecutors are aware of the young and innocent demographic of “sexters,” prosecuting only 18 percent of cases which did not involve adults or an abusive relationship, but the government still handled over 3,400 cases in a two-year span from 2008 to 2009 that included complicit minors at any level of involvement. “I believe these laws come off as a little extreme; however, I do think they should be in place,” Poston commented.
In recent weeks, students at Poly have become more susceptible to the danger of publishing explicit photographs. Through a new smartphone application, students can anonymously post to a community board. The app, “Burnbook,” determines the user’s location and displays the various communities in the area. A community was created for Riverside Poly High School and has since involved pornographic photographs of minors on top of bullying and other social media problems, an epidemic that reached its height on March 20. Users must be 18 to use the app, but many minors, including Poly students, can “agree” to the age requirement through a simple confirmation after downloading the app. Local law enforcement is keeping a close eye on this application and investigating potentially unlawful posts.
Among the issues related to the phenomenon of sexting, the most important is awareness. Teens can more safely approach the issue and enjoy their privacy if they learn about and comprehend sexting’s legal repercussions. Meanwhile, law enforcement and strict punishment continue to pervade to keep the vulnerable from being abused.