A Msg 4 u – sexting

By Kerri Zane -

Are you a parent of a teenager? Are you aware of this insane trend called sexting? For those of you who don’t know, sexting is when a kid takes a flirtatious, nude or semi-nude picture of them self and sends it to others through their cell phone or other means of texting device. You also must know that sexting is an illegal activity with a heinous penalty that will haunt your teen for the rest of his/her life. No matter how uncomfortable this might seem it is a subject you must discuss with your child.

If you think your teen is not sexter or doesn’t know about sexting I am telling you now you are dead wrong. In a survey almost 40% of all teens have posted sexually suggestive messages, 37% are teen girls and 40% are teen boys. Of those, sixty-six percent of teen girls and 60% of teen boys say they did so to be “fun or flirtatious.” They think it’s innocent fun; but it’s not. Kids are sexting to people they barely know, people they meet online, to boyfriends and girlfriends or others they want to “hook up” with. Sexting can ruin a teenager’s reputation at school and in the community. More serious your teenager can be arrested for distributing child pornography. THEY WILL BE LISTED AS A SEXUAL PREDATOR FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE. This is no joke.

I was discussing the topic with my 15 ½ year old daughter the other day on our way home from high school. I made sure at a very young age that my daughter felt secure that no topic is taboo. For me, I want to know what is going on in her life, so I can protect her. For her, I believe the freedom to confide in her mother is a safe haven, a place not to be judged, but protected.

I wanted to know how prevalent sexting was at her school. I also wanted to make sure that she knew how dangerous it was and the serious criminal consequences. She confidently told me that she knows what sexting is and she knows the act comes with legal penalties. She told me there are two girls at school who are both known by all the other kids as sexters, the boyfriends they sent their pictures to then distributed them to the student body. Those girls’ reputations are marred for life, and so are the boys who forwarded the sexts. When either the girls or the boys who participated in the crime pass by a group of kids the others all point and comment, “that’s the sexter”.

What made me most proud, as a mom, was my own child’s point of view on the matter. She said, “Mom, I don’t trust technology. Why would anyone send anything so personal on any electronic device? If I was going to share something so special, which I’m not! (Phew, off the hook there – right) why would I do that on a cell phone? If I were going to share something that private I would do that in person when it’s more intimate and meaningful! Bravo my child, I love her sensibility.

I feel confident that because we openly discuss all topics, the easy ones and the highly charged ones too, my teenage child is equipped with the right sense of self to make the right choices for her future.

Kerri Zane is a Health and Fitness Lifestyle Expert for Generation Jones women, those born between 1954 and 1965. She is an Emmy award winning television producer with 20 years of experience. Kerri writes lifestyle and women’s empowerment articles for a variety of monthly publications and websites. She has taught classes at UCLA extension. In December 2009 Kerri was named Lifestyle expert for http://www.4jewsonly.com a social networking site. Featured as the cover story for the 2006 Mother’s Day issue of “Long Beach Magazine,” Kerri was profiled as an exemplary single working mother and role model for women. An honors graduate from UCLA she completed coursework for a Masters in Marketing at CSUN, has a certificate in Public Relations from UCLA, is a member of NATAS, the DGA and a Certified Personal Trainer. Kerri is an ardent supporter of Girlfriends-LBC, a mentor group for teen girls and the American Heart Association. Kerri resides in Long Beach, CA with her two teenage daughters and twin Siamese cats. http://www.kerrizane.com