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The Dangers of “Sexting” (What is a fair response?) April 27, 2009

The topic of “sexting” has been a major discussion throughout the mainstream media as of late.  There have been quite a few legal cases that have come from the different responses to this “epidemic.”

So, what is sexting?  Sexting is a term that has been coined to describe the act of using texting (using a cell phone) to transmit provocative, scantily clad, and sometimes nude photos of one’s self to others.  The biggest contingent for this right now is, of course, teens.  According to this article from CBS News, about 20 percent of teens, nationwide, admit to participating in some form of sexting.  Alarming?  Yes.  But so is the reaction from the other side.  Before we see the dangers facing teens who choose to participate in this type of activity, let me ask you…How would you react if you found suggestive pictures of your son or daughter on their cell phone, and then realized that they had broadcast these images to a boyfriend or girlfriend, or perhaps someone you’ve never even met?

The question in my mind is, “what is the most reasonable reaction to this situation?”  From a parental point of view there would be severe consequences.  But what, if any, should be the legal consequences?  According to one story, a lawyer in Pennsylvania thinks that three teenage girls involved in sexting should face felony child-pornography charges for taking and distributing pictures of themselves if they do not agree to attend an education program.  Is this over the top?  How far would you let your District’s Attorney go in order to “protect your children?”  If prosecuted, these girls could end up on a nationwide sex offender’s registry.  Some parents think this is pushing it too far.  At least one family has filed suit against this attorney for violating their freedom-of-expression rights, and the ACLU thinks that he is getting in the way ofthe parents raising their children as they see fit.  Would you want the legal system to punish your child for this type of offense?

One other story offers a slightly gentler response to the situation.  Recently, a group of parents, educators, technology professionals, and a whole host of others gathered in Washington, D.C. at the urging of the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) to discuss the most proper reaction to this “epidemic.”  The effort of this conference was to change the focus of this issue from the context of “criminal behavior” to “adolescent behavior and risk taking.”  The CEO of FOSI, Stephen Balkam, says that a great deal of the solution needs to be, once again, “educating the public.”  The same rhetoric about watching what your kids are doing on the computer and being aware of where they are still holds true, but takes a whole new class of educated parents when it comes to cell phones, PDAs, and any other mobile device that can travel around.

I’ll leave the final opinion up to you, the parent.  What is the most logical, practical, and reasonable response?  As you formulate your opinion, here are some other resources that you might want to access:

Sexting: Pornography or Modern-Day Flirting? (Wall Street Journal)

Family Online Safety Institute’s YouTube Channel

Legislature considers legalizing teen ‘sexting’ (Burlington Free Press [VT])

Aside from the response, what should you and your children know about the dangers of sexting?  Simply put, it is an open invitation for harassment, taunting, embarassment, and physical danger.  Don’t believe that the image you send to one friend will remain with only that friend for very long, and even if you have a trusting relationship with that person, is it really necessary?  I would have to say that the risks far outweigh the convenience or novelty of the whole idea.

The Final Word:

One last parental response option:

(Click this image to view the original posting)

A Message for Parents April 16, 2009

I recently ran across a blog post by a gentleman I’m following in Twitter about a seemingly perverted group of Flickr users.  I will not post all of his comments, but it’s worth a read here.  Basically, this person posted a few pictures of his young daughter on Flickr to share with family and friends, as many of you may have done.  But to his alarm, his pictures were favorited by at least two other individuals whom he did not know, and who had large collections of similar pictures in their favorites but that did not have such good intentions.  So, I wanted to speak to the parents, as he has, and not focus on your child’s use of the internet, but your own.  I would like to pose the question that this writer posed and see what your reaction might be to them.

1) What must parents know about the realities of the Internet in regards to how we deal with the photos (and identities) of our children?
2) What are the benefits of an open vs. a closed reality? Are the benefits of openness (e.g., in regards to our families) worth the risks? And, what are the credible risks?
3) What precautions should we take, or perhaps, what precautions do you take in the presentation/development of your family’s digital identity?
4) What rights and responsibilities do we have as parents to protect the digital identities of our children?
5) How do we proceed from here? How do we help other parents to understand these important issues?

I don’t have all the answers to these questions, nor does anyone.  But this is a discussion that should be taking place within your family and among your friends.  Not only are your children at risk of exposing too much of themselves through their “digital identity,” but you have just as much potential to spread too much information to the world.  It pays to be aware of what’s out there and where you fit into the larger scheme.

The Final Word:

Know what your kids are sharing and showing, but don’t forget about yourselves.  Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you’re not succeptable to these risks on behalf of your children!

Communication Addicts April 2, 2009

Let’s begin with a little imagination activity.  Think back any one of your high school classes…English perhaps, or history… Now think about how that classroom operated.  Were you sitting in rows?  Did you interact with the other students?  Did you do any group projects?  Who talked most of the time?  In response to that, what would you say was your favorite time of the day (lunch?  before/after school?), and why?  I have to admit that I remember plenty of classes that were so mundane, I longed for any opportunity to get out of the classroom and have a chance to interact with my peers, have a little fun, connect, maybe even compare homework!  Sometimes I even failed to contain my enthusiasm for open communication and got myself in trouble in the middle of class!  I consider myself to be a part of the first generation of “digital natives,” and I attribute my thirst for communication to that very fact.

The sad truth is that many high school classes still operate the same way today!  And who are we teaching now?  The second (and even third) generation of “digital natives.”  Why is this a problem?  These students are just as eager, if not more so, for connection, collaboration, and communication, and they have more opportunities and resources at their disposal to feed that hunger.

The Good News

We are raising a nation full of innovators!  We live in a time of transition, from traditional media (like newspapers, magazines, and analog TV) to modern media (like Facebook, digital TV, internet TV, blogs, wikis, and Twitter).  With this new and growing list of easily delivered communication options, our students have an incredible amount of freedom to experience and create information, which drives them to develop their own ways of achieving that.  We’re pushing the boundaries, finding out what works and what doesn’t, and developing a new communication revolution that will continue to alter the world!

The Bad News

Along with great power comes great responsibility.  High schools students are bombarded with this new thrust of information.  Sometimes they know how to discern what’s valid, but too many times they do not.  This also impedes their ability to produce appropriate and valid information in a viral system, where one small comment or action spreads throughout the entire network, sometimes, in a matter of minutes!  An example of this: how much information are they posting about themselves on their MySpace page?  Are their pictures appropriate?  In how many ways do they make themselves “available” or “accessable?”  How many people that they are connected to do they actually know?

The other caveat to this is that they are unable (perhaps too immature) to handle the state of being “hyper-connected,” and their “multitasking” turns into “constant partial attention.”  I believe proper multitasking skills can be acquired.  I also believe that being too connected too often leads students away from developing their own unique ideas outside of the influence of their Twitter followers or their Facebook friends.  However, I believe that being instantly and effortlessly connected to the right people (i.e. classmates, teachers, a Nobel Laureate or two) increases a student’s chances at understanding and success.

The Argument

Should classrooms change, or should they stay the same?  Should we be a safe haven for the overly-connected, or should we leverage that connectivity to increase productivity and success?  Should the same tools of communication (cell phones, PDAs, computers) be used as tools for increased educational opportunities?  Of course, my answer is the latter on all accounts.  But we, as educators, parents, friends, guardians, and mentors, must be aware of the options for connectivity and help our children understand the responsibility for caution, discernment, and, sometimes, avoidance.