The Wall Street Journal published an article about how sexting among kids is more common than ever and how parents should talk to their kids about the issue, which is what we will be talking about in this article.
During the pandemic social isolation and device, usage soared, and experts say this included an increase in the sharing of nude selfies and other sexually explicit messages among teens and tweens as reported by Bark, an online safety service that parents and schools use to monitor kids’ devices.
The article also shared a statistic published in JAMA Pediatrics that 1 in 7 adolescents have sent sexts, 1 in 4 have received sexts, and 1 in 8 have forwarded sexts without the consent of the person in the photo. Unfortunately, these statistics aren’t completely surprising. With societal expectations changing in the wake of mass media, the sad truth, especially for young females, is not only the pressure to send nude photos but the unsolicited photos they receive.
A 2019 study found that more than 3 times as many girls had been asked to send a sext and felt pressured to do so than boys.
According to child-development experts, it may be normal in older adolescent relationships to agree to share photos. It’s another thing when tweens and teens receive photos they don’t want or feel coerced to share nude photos of themselves. The uses of these photos sometimes result in blackmail or revenge.
The long-term impact on teens’ development is an impact on their sense of self-worth – Most girls assume boys only want them for their bodies. It’s made them more insecure.
Let’s see what child development experts are saying about this issue and how parents can take preventive measures.
According to child-development experts, it may be normal in older adolescent relationships to agree to share photos. It’s another thing when tweens and teens receive photos they don’t want or feel coerced to share nude photos of themselves. The uses of these photos sometimes result in blackmail or revenge.
The long-term impact on teens’ development is an impact on their sense of self-worth. Most girls assume boys only want them for their bodies. It’s made them more insecure and has skewed the idea of what constitutes a healthy relationship.
There are many steps parents can take preventitively:
- Start the conversation early. If your kids are very young, under 10, start a conversation about what healthy relationships look like, what consent means, and how to be a good digital user– you don’t have to mention sexting.
- Get more specific as they get older, especially around the time they get their first cell phone or smart device
- Make it about someone else – If you hear about or see a news article about a minor who has been charged with possession of child pornography, use that as an opportunity to raise the issue
- Scenario planning- Dr. Madigan, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Calgary, suggests giving your older child a scenario and practicing their response. For example it would be asking what they’d do if they receive a sext or what they’d do if they are being pressured to share one. Doing this before it might happen provides them with a framework to respond to scenarios they may face and include in the plan that they can come to you about these things when they do happen.
