The attraction of the Internet to change lives and lifestyles is becoming a major topic in the news. Sexting and suicide are two of the hottest topics in cyberspace today, especially the occurrences of these activities among teen-aged user of the web.
Sexting involves the use of cellphones or digital cameras to capture a photo depicting an explicit sexual scene or nudity and sending these photos to others. The problem with modern technology is that this process is so easy, to snap and send, that teens may quickly complete the process without considering the possible life altering consequences of sexting.
In the US, state and federal governments are pursuing teens who transmit (upload) and receive (download) nude photos of underage persons as participants in child pornography. Anyone who transmits or receives these photos may be charges with distribution of child pornography. Recently, Several men have been charged with such crimes, after they reposted photos of their ex-girlfriends in the nude to others. This is often viewed as an act of revenge, or payback on the part of the boyfriend who is paying the former girlfriend back for breaking off the relationship.
Sexting involves the use of cellphones or digital cameras to capture a photo depicting an explicit sexual scene or nudity and sending these photos to others. The problem with modern technology is that this process is so easy, to snap and send, that teens may quickly complete the process without considering the possible life altering consequences of sexting.
In the US, state and federal governments are pursuing teens who transmit (upload) and receive (download) nude photos of underage persons as participants in child pornography. Anyone who transmits or receives these photos may be charges with distribution of child pornography. Recently, Several men have been charged with such crimes, after they reposted photos of their ex-girlfriends in the nude to others. This is often viewed as an act of revenge, or payback on the part of the boyfriend who is paying the former girlfriend back for breaking off the relationship.
The problem that seems to be developing among teen and preteen users of social websites have developed a subculture that is substantially different from that of their parents who were not raised on social websites as children. I teach at a career college, and most of my students are the parents of teens. We discuss the sexting phenomena, and many parents do not understand the mind-set of their teens. I suggest that their teens have developed a different set of values online. Nudity is widespread on the web, and some teens do not find the experience of posing nude in front of a camera as distasteful, and may find some degree of acceptance from others in the process.
Recently a young woman committed suicide after she involved herself in sexting by sending nude photos of herself to her boyfriend. He later sent these photos to her friends when she broke off the relationship. Her friends ridiculed her and she was humiliated by the release of her revealing photos. She experienced depression, and even appeared on a morning television show in an attempt to warn other teen aged girls of the cruel treatment that she had experienced and find help. But, a few days ago, she was no longer able to face the life of a sexting teen and ended her life.
In a separate incident, a depressed teen-aged boy, in Florida, told others in his social network that he was depressed and planned to commit suicide. He went home and turned on his web cam and took a fatal dose of drugs and alcohol. People watched as he died and either chatted about the situation or ignored the situation, taking it as an Internet hoax. This situation has raised concerns about the level of responsibility demonstrated by Internet users.
I discuss these situations with my students, and explain that the use of social web sites by teens has changed the culture of adolescents and their norms have changed from those held by their parents. I suggest that parents discuss acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for their children on the web. The culture of the Internet leads to isolation, and different children will respond in various ways, and need guidance on what to do while online. An additional problem is establishing what is inappropriate content or activity while online. Both deaths were avoidable, but there were no reports of inappropriate activity, and no intervention.
I was reading a blog by an educator in Australia, Ali Hall, and noticed that there is a web site available for people in Australia who are depressed and need help with their condition. The web site is www.sane.org, and offers resources for depressed and distressed people. This is definitely a step in the right direction. As teachers, do you have suggestions about how to resolve these problems with students? Do we need better safeguards? Is education the key? Is there an equitable solution to the problems of sexting and web related suicides?
Recently a young woman committed suicide after she involved herself in sexting by sending nude photos of herself to her boyfriend. He later sent these photos to her friends when she broke off the relationship. Her friends ridiculed her and she was humiliated by the release of her revealing photos. She experienced depression, and even appeared on a morning television show in an attempt to warn other teen aged girls of the cruel treatment that she had experienced and find help. But, a few days ago, she was no longer able to face the life of a sexting teen and ended her life.
In a separate incident, a depressed teen-aged boy, in Florida, told others in his social network that he was depressed and planned to commit suicide. He went home and turned on his web cam and took a fatal dose of drugs and alcohol. People watched as he died and either chatted about the situation or ignored the situation, taking it as an Internet hoax. This situation has raised concerns about the level of responsibility demonstrated by Internet users.
I discuss these situations with my students, and explain that the use of social web sites by teens has changed the culture of adolescents and their norms have changed from those held by their parents. I suggest that parents discuss acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for their children on the web. The culture of the Internet leads to isolation, and different children will respond in various ways, and need guidance on what to do while online. An additional problem is establishing what is inappropriate content or activity while online. Both deaths were avoidable, but there were no reports of inappropriate activity, and no intervention.
I was reading a blog by an educator in Australia, Ali Hall, and noticed that there is a web site available for people in Australia who are depressed and need help with their condition. The web site is www.sane.org, and offers resources for depressed and distressed people. This is definitely a step in the right direction. As teachers, do you have suggestions about how to resolve these problems with students? Do we need better safeguards? Is education the key? Is there an equitable solution to the problems of sexting and web related suicides?
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