Sexting...

[Father Time]

What happened in that episode? I don't usually watch Law and Order.

 

[chanel]

There are laws about public nudity and there are laws to protect us from ourselves - esp. when it comes to children. "Innocent" pics sent to a boyfriend often become public. Treating it as no big deal is not the solution. It can become a very big deal when Suzie is bullied at school or tries to run for Congress one day. There must be consequences BEFORE that happens. And for many bright young ladies, the threat of a record of some kind might be a very effective deterrent. Just like statutory rape laws.

 

[JD_2B]

There are laws about public nudity and there are laws to protect us from ourselves - esp. when it comes to children. "Innocent" pics sent to a boyfriend often become public. Treating it as no big deal is not the solution. It can become a very big deal when Suzie is bullied at school or tries to run for Congress one day. There must be consequences BEFORE that happens. And for many bright young ladies, the threat of a record of some kind might be a very effective deterrent. Just like statutory rape laws.

Well, I agree that nude pictures that are posted on the internet or published in any way, of a person under the age of 18, should be considered child pornography, and prosecuted as such, especially when a minor sent that picture to someone and trusted them with it. Even older children (like, 13 and up) understand the consequences of their actions, particularly when there is malice involved.
Still, a picture of someone with exposed breasts is not pornography, as it is not overtly sexual. National Geographic has tons of pictures of women with exposed breasts in it, even pictures of little kids with their genitals showing. I mean, if a person is doing some kind of daily routine activity, like carrying a basket on her head OR taking a shower, it is not sexual, it is not porn- it is just an image of the human body with the breasts exposed.

It could also be argued that people who take pictures of their babies during bath time could be called child pornography, all because it is a female child whose breast nipples or surrounding skin is showing, or because the baby's genitals or butt is showing, also. There is a certain amount of allowance with the freedom of expression, and nude pictures of baby children are often considered family pictures. Nude pictures taken by one's self in a shower or wearing training bras, are only considered nude pictures, not pornography or obscene. Its a freedom of expression. The person who gets sent that picture, however, should be responsible with it. If they posted that picture on the internet or in some kind of non-family publishing, or publishing that is not completely private to the persons who were originally given those images, that does victimize the child by means of exploitation, and that should be prosecuted. People should not be prosecuted just because they have a non sexual picture of a nude or half nude minor sent to them on their phone, especially when these are sent to other minors!!

 

[Charles Stucker]

Besides, I really don't understand why teenage sex is so taboo anyways. Fundies claim that teenage sex is entirely immoral, that teen pregnancy is all wrong, and then they wonder why so many teens have abortions to hide the pregnancy from their own fundamentalist families. It's totally a lose-lose situation with teenagers, too, because the time in our lives when pregnancy is the best possibility is during the teen years. It just goes downwards from there.

JD, I've seen studies which indicaate the mother and baby are (statistically) healthiest when the mother is in her early twenties. Financially most teens have trouble with raising children, another reason to wait on the babies.

To the OP - something has to be addressed to prevent a tech savvy teen from taking a sexually exocative picture of themself and inserting it in an unwitting victim's data cache. A nightmare scenario might ensue when a completely innocent individual was charged with child pronography on the 'evidence' found in their posession. This may be a step in that direction or (perhaps more likely given the nature of lawmakers) it may be an attention grab by a media hungry politico.

 

[Father Time]

There are laws about public nudity and there are laws to protect us from ourselves - esp. when it comes to children. "Innocent" pics sent to a boyfriend often become public. Treating it as no big deal is not the solution. It can become a very big deal when Suzie is bullied at school or tries to run for Congress one day. There must be consequences BEFORE that happens. And for many bright young ladies, the threat of a record of some kind might be a very effective deterrent. Just like statutory rape laws.

But it's still a fucking non-crime. Should we have laws to prevent people from saying something stupid or joining Scientology? Government should not exist to baby us, it's not our parent, and if there should be consequences it should come from the parent not the government.

Besides we're all ready treating it like pictures of children being molested (aka child porn). If your deterrent theory held water that would be enough. Also adding the punishment onto it just makes the situation worse.

I'll never understand the thought process of people who want such despicable nanny-states.

Getting drunk and doing something you'll regret is not illegal (as long as it's in private and you don't drive) and pictures of it may haunt people. Shall we ban that as well in your apparent effort to protect people from themselves and make everything the government's business.

How about all the myriad other things people could be blackmailed over?

Could you at least agree that prosecuting them the same way we prosecute those who sell pictures of kiddys being molested is insane?

 

[JD_2B]

Besides, I really don't understand why teenage sex is so taboo anyways. Fundies claim that teenage sex is entirely immoral, that teen pregnancy is all wrong, and then they wonder why so many teens have abortions to hide the pregnancy from their own fundamentalist families. It's totally a lose-lose situation with teenagers, too, because the time in our lives when pregnancy is the best possibility is during the teen years. It just goes downwards from there.

JD, I've seen studies which indicaate the mother and baby are (statistically) healthiest when the mother is in her early twenties. Financially most teens have trouble with raising children, another reason to wait on the babies.

Teens are having sex. They are more likely to get pregnant than 20 somethings, biologically. If they need better jobs to be available to them so that they can raise kids, then we, as parents, need to cut the apron strings a little bit and raise them with higher academic and work standards than many parents these days do. A few years is nothing financially, comparing older teens having sex and 20 somethings. Anybody can go to school and get a job and support their families. Hell, one might even say that since 30 somethings or 40 somethings are more financially secure (house paid off or almost there, cars bought and paid for, student loans all paid off, etc) then why not wait until one is 40 something to get naked and take pictures of themselves, and send them via picture messaging to a potential mate. Fucking whatever- You wont concede to that point, I am sure- which means that your beliefs are inconsistent about this, and are only arguing against teen rights.

To the OP - something has to be addressed to prevent a tech savvy teen from taking a sexually exocative picture of themself and inserting it in an unwitting victim's data cache. A nightmare scenario might ensue when a completely innocent individual was charged with child pronography on the 'evidence' found in their posession. This may be a step in that direction or (perhaps more likely given the nature of lawmakers) it may be an attention grab by a media hungry politico.

Good luck with that. Again, HAVING a picture of a teenager who is underage even should not be considered a crime, especially when it is a teenager who only has their boobs exposed and is hopping out of the shower, in a non sexually provocative pose. Nudity is NOT the enemy.

 

[chanel]

There are laws about public nudity and there are laws to protect us from ourselves - esp. when it comes to children. "Innocent" pics sent to a boyfriend often become public. Treating it as no big deal is not the solution. It can become a very big deal when Suzie is bullied at school or tries to run for Congress one day. There must be consequences BEFORE that happens. And for many bright young ladies, the threat of a record of some kind might be a very effective deterrent. Just like statutory rape laws.

But it's still a fucking non-crime. Should we have laws to prevent people from saying something stupid or joining Scientology? Government should not exist to baby us, it's not our parent, and if there should be consequences it should come from the parent not the government.

Besides we're all ready treating it like pictures of children being molested (aka child porn). If your deterrent theory held water that would be enough. Also adding the punishment onto it just makes the situation worse.

I'll never understand the thought process of people who want such despicable nanny-states.

Getting drunk and doing something you'll regret is not illegal (as long as it's in private and you don't drive) and pictures of it may haunt people. Shall we ban that as well in your apparent effort to protect people from themselves and make everything the government's business.

How about all the myriad other things people could be blackmailed over?

Could you at least agree that prosecuting them the same way we prosecute those who sell pictures of kiddys being molested is insane?

Yes. I already did. And the juvenile justice system does not treat them the same either. We are talking about children - not adults getting drunk. I do not believe in a nanny state. But I also don't believe that parents are the best teachers in all cases. They tend to be a bit biased. Myself included...

 

[Charles Stucker]

Teens are having sex. They are more likely to get pregnant than 20 somethings, biologically. If they need better jobs to be available to them so that they can raise kids, then we, as parents, need to cut the apron strings a little bit and raise them with higher academic and work standards than many parents these days do.

Fucking whatever- You wont concede to that point, I am sure- which means that your beliefs are inconsistent about this, and are only arguing against teen rights. .

Clearly, I was not being clear. I am not trying to force teens to avoid sex. I am however concerned that the children they produce may have serious problems because of the teenagers inability to care for them. Yes anyone might be in that position, but teens are particularly prone to certain problems, so, as you say, something might be done better.
I am not against nude pictures; Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's Venus, and scores of other artworks feature the nude form. Pornography is a different issue, particularly when adults exploit children to produce it. The OP sounds like it stems from a politician's attempt to exploit public ignorance to create a hot topic they can use to advance their career, not from a serious attempt to protect children from criminal exploitation.
I apologize for the confusion engendered by my original post.

 

[JD_2B]

Teens are having sex. They are more likely to get pregnant than 20 somethings, biologically. If they need better jobs to be available to them so that they can raise kids, then we, as parents, need to cut the apron strings a little bit and raise them with higher academic and work standards than many parents these days do.

Fucking whatever- You wont concede to that point, I am sure- which means that your beliefs are inconsistent about this, and are only arguing against teen rights. .

Clearly, I was not being clear. I am not trying to force teens to avoid sex. I am however concerned that the children they produce may have serious problems because of the teenagers inability to care for them. Yes anyone might be in that position, but teens are particularly prone to certain problems, so, as you say, something might be done better.
I am not against nude pictures; Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's Venus, and scores of other artworks feature the nude form. Pornography is a different issue, particularly when adults exploit children to produce it. The OP sounds like it stems from a politician's attempt to exploit public ignorance to create a hot topic they can use to advance their career, not from a serious attempt to protect children from criminal exploitation.
I apologize for the confusion engendered by my original post.

Nice save! Sorry for cussing you out there.. I am a bit of a child rights advocate, due to seeing several teens have babies and grow into a life of being good parents, and strong members of the community, with solid family support systems in place, anyways. I have also seen a couple of teens who got pregnant and kicked out of their homes, and treated like shit by their families, ending up in some codependent relationships which had either violence or drug use.. I know that the bad stories always seem terrible compared with the success stories, but I think that with teenagers, most of the issue comes with parental support being positive and readily available for the teenage child, as well as the teenager's child.

I will share the stories I know, about people I knew back when I was either a teen or in my early twenties. I think it is important to understand that the one real difference in the "horror stories" and the "successes" was the familial support systems in place, okay? That is why I am sharing..

Horror Story:

This chick got pregnant with her asshole loser boyfriend. Well, the girl was a bit of a loser weirdo herself- she did not fit into social norms, didn't shave, used that weird natural crystal thing as deodorant, and dressed like a gypsy/ hippie. She hygiene was lacking, and she did not have the social skills that the average person her age had. She was 17 when she had her baby. She lived with the baby in a halfway house for teenagers. When she turned 18, the halfway house had prepared her for the world by setting her up with public assistance and housing and all that good stuff. She and the baby lived in the housing place for a few months, and all was well, but then she decided to join the Rainbow Gathering, and trot around the country with a tent and a portacrib in the trunk. Needless to say, her child was taken from her custody early on due to neglect. I did not follow her case after that.

Success Story:
Well, this story starts out really sad- My best friend started having sex when she was 15, and about a year later, she found out she was pregnant. Her home situation was shit. Both of her parents were alcoholics, violent, and used drugs as well. She was a Cinderella, who as young as 8 years old, had to take care of her two little brothers, cook, clean, and do much of the family shopping.
When her mother found out she was pregnant, she punched her in the stomach, causing her to bleed profusely.
She is not sure to this day whether she had a miscarriage by that or not, but anyways, she wanted out of her house so badly that she and her boyfriend had unprotected sex for a couple weeks to be sure she would be pregnant, and apparently she either got pregnant again, or never miscarried in the first place. Well, anyways, she moved out the night her mom punched her belly, and moved in to her boyfriend's house. Soon thereafter, she decided that he was a loser (he WAS a loser and a jerk, and I think he cheated on her or was being really controlling or somethin) and she ended up living in his grandparents house. She got a job at Winn Dixie as a bagger, and had the baby a month after she turned 16. The grandparents were very supportive of her, and the baby. She was in a program for teen parents, to ensure that she finished school. She graduated with a 4.29 GPA from high school. She ended up getting a better position at some kind of drive through market, and made manager within a year. When she turned 18, she got her own place (a shitty single wide mobile home, but it was hers and it was safe!). She went to school for her degree, which she also succeeded in earning. While in school, working, and taking care of a toddler, she did get involved with drugs for a short time, but it did not last. She did end up in a newer car which she paid for herself, and met a nice man, who she ended up marrying. The three of them live in a nice suburban home now. We lost contact a long time ago, but I am sure she has another kid by now, too. A degree, a new car, a mortgage, and a healthy relationship- Well that is all I need to hear to know that she is a success, at least a MUCH bigger success than her loser parents were.

Horror Story:

This woman had several kids with this prick of a boyfriend who was always in and out of jail. Well, she couldn't afford to bail him out of jail any more, and their family was totally unsupportive of them. She was 21/22 years old and already had like four or five kids with the man. His family had no respect for women, and treated her like a bitch, even though she had a good heart.
She ended up giving a kid up for adoption, when the loser needed bail money. She felt like she had no other choice, because they needed him to keep his job, for the family to survive. She started making babies just for the adoption agency perks, like free rent, food, medical care, etc.
When her uterus stopped producing, she went into the business of selling her body for money. By this time, she had chosen to give all of her children up for adoption. It is actually a really sick story, because she ended up so victimized by this guy and his family that she traded all of her values just to make enough money to get the hell out of the relationship, which she did eventually succeed in doing. She KEPT doing escort work after that though, no doubt trying desperately to get pregnant, to get the free rent and other perks.
Those poor kids... I don't really judge the girl too much. I mean, yes she is a dirty whore and probably a sociopath.. What she did seemed really heartless to me, at least back then, but I do consider her situation, and I cant help but sympathize with her. She never got a college education, dropped out of high school to raise kids, which she ended up being without, and her relationship was anything but GOOD. I think that if her parents had been more accepting of her, and his family was a little more supportive, things may have turned out different. I strongly feel that she had a good heart, and the best intentions, even if her life turned out really shitty and her decisions were terrible.

Success Story:
I knew a lady who had a couple of kids in her late teenage years.. It took her a long time to get her masters degree in psychology, but she did it, and she did it with a couple more additions every few years and relationships. She is a typical battered woman/ codependent who suffers from depression, and has been convinced that she deserves to be treated a certain way. Everybody has their line, and that line does get crossed in every relationship she has ever been in, causing her to make safety plans and leave briskly. Her family is extremely supportive of her, but her community is somewhat torn, which could possibly account for her relationships and self image being not so good. However, she is now a grandmother. She has a grandson that is only a couple of years younger than her youngest child, in fact. She is a success, because all this time, she has worked many jobs, taken good care of her kids, been a dog breeder, and gotten a college degree as well as a recent mortgage a few years ago. The kids are all happy and they have cable TV, and the usual video games and cell phones, and their own rooms, etc, lol.. She made some changes in her life, and her perspective on how she deserves to be treated, and is focusing on that, which should amount to her getting married in a healthy relationship one day.

I know that the focus of these horrors and successes I listed were of the woman's perspective and life- but the woman's life really affects the kids. The two people who had no support had terrible outcomes- and the two that had at least moderate or strong loving support had pretty excellent outcomes, overall. Plus, the bad relationship thing could happen to anyone.. Even a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships can turn into unhealthy relationships at what seems like the drop of a dime. Most women do not see the warning signs, if any exist, even. Some men are predators, also- I mean calculating and saying and doing all the right things until they get what they want, and then they turn evil. I have been with a few of these types of men. I had one dentist guy who was awesome- perfect, just right- we talked for hours every night, and spent a lot of time together.. and then when I finally had sex with him, (three times in one night actually) he fell off the face of the planet afterwards. He was a predator.

I just wish that women had more positive support in place, especially when they are teenagers. I think people need to educate their kids about healthy relationships and be supporting of them through thick and thin.. Being a teenager is hard enough- Being a teenager with parents who refuse to open up and tell them the facts and information that they need to know about the real world, in a positive, non judgmental way- is a surefire way of ruining a kids life.