SEXTING: IS IT SOMETHING YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT WITH YOUR TEEN?
Sexting, do you even know what it means? Has it ever been a topic of conversation with your teen, or even pre-teen, at your dinner table? If the topic of sex comes up, who blushes first: you or your child?
SEXTING: defined by Wikipedia as the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos electronically, primarily between mobile phones.
SEXTING: defined by www.urbandictionary.com: the act of text messaging someone in hopes of having a sexual encounter with them later; initially casual, transitioning into highly suggestive and even sexually explicit
Do those definitions sound like something you’d rather avoid talking about with your child? If so, you’re like me. However, as my parents once told me: “sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to,” and in this case as a parent in today’s electronic age, it’s something I feel I have to discuss.
As I began doing some research on the topic, I couldn’t believe some of the statistics: (source:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/03/scitech/pcanswer/main5873653.shtml)
• 50% of 14-24 year olds have experienced some form of digital abuse
• 30% have received nude photos on their cell phone or PC
• 17% of those have shared the photo with others
Why do teens send nude photos? This same survey found that
• 52% thought others would want to see them
• 35% to show off
• 26% boredom!
If you are as astounded by those stats as I was, you might be wondering what you as a parent can do about this. Kid Phone Advocate has developed a tool to help you do just that. We are preparing to offer software that, once downloaded to the child’s cell phone, can be used to monitor text messages, sexting, “Watch Words” and also provides GPS tracking. Want to know more? Visit our website at www.kidphoneadvocate.com