The Dangers of Sexting and Exposure into Child Pornography
The Dangers of Sexting and Exposure into Child Pornography
I A) The topic I chose is sexting that is classified as child pornography. Commentary: Is ‘sexting’ child pornography? CNN.com. April 8, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/crime/04/08/galanos.sexting/index.html
- B) The importance of this topic is the fact it is not taken seriously. Young kids have cell phones nowadays and parents don’t realize the dangers of these youngsters sending things that can backfire in the future. In many cases, it can ruin a child’s future. It is important to educate our youth as to what happens when pictures and text messages are sent out to others and can later be haunted in life.
In the CNN article, Mike Galanos says: A great illustration of why change is needed now is the story of Phillip Alpert, of Orlando, Florida. He didn’t ask, but his girlfriend sexted him naked pictures of herself, according to the Orlando Sentinel. When they broke up, he mass e-mailed the photos to get back at her. Alpert, 18, was convicted of transmission of child porn and he will carry the label of “sex offender” until he is 43. He lost friends, was kicked out of school, he can’t even move in with his dad because his dad lives near a school. When Alpert was doing this he didn’t realize the danger he was putting himself under and even his ex girlfriend. Not only did he ruin the girl’s image and reputation he got labeled as a sex offender. He lost friends and got kicked out of school. This kid’s future went down the drain. Another case Galanos points us towards is:
A 13-year-old boy in Middletown, Ohio, is facing felony pandering obscenities charges after taping a sex act and showing it to friends at a skating party. A felony? Yes this kid needs to be punished but we don’t need our 13 or 14-year- olds charged with child porn and lumped in with adult pedophiles and labeled as sex offenders.
This pinpoints to the issue of child porn and adult pedophiles. Also Galanos mentions, “Some may feel they have an obligation to charge these
teens with the most serious offense possible and, according to the law, naked pictures of underage kids are usually considered child porn.” That is truly scary to know. I want to write about this because I was 16 when this happened to me and although this makes me cringe while writing about it I hope to educate kids about it. My self-esteem was very low and I did not make friends at school. I seeked online friendships and signed up for several apps. I made a lot of friends but that lead to other things. I was asked for pictures and sexting. I eventually was pulled into that I knew it wasn’t right but I kept on doing it. I was so lucky that those pictures did not get exposed and were deleted, because that guy and I became good friends and he knew I wasn’t that type of girl. I was very lucky to be saved in that sense and I never did anything like that again. It was truly eye opening and knowing that these pictures are not to be sent, with or without your face in it. Honestly, with my kids I would check their phone and make them aware of these dangers because my parents never did and this is why that happened to me. It is quite frightening to know later in life those pictures or texts could have haunted you. While doing the act, we as kids don’t realize the danger before it is too late. I want to write about this topic to create awareness and the real dangers of sexting.
II Brainstorm
1) What do you already know about the topic?
- Sexting is a huge problem nowadays with youngsters having cell phones and access to the Internet. The “need” for sex is another thing. Honestly speaking, I see kids in middle school having boyfriends and being sexually active and I think to myself what has happened to this generation. When I was in middle school I wasn’t aware of how to even put on a condom and how to use one till later in high school. I know this is a huge issue and it needs to be addressed before it is too late for some kids. I have been through the situation and I know how it feels, years later.
- Also, child pornography is very widely known nowadays. Children photographs and poses arouse many people. That is gross because I would never want my child near them if they had those intentions with my kids.
- I’m slowly learning more about the topic, as I will research more into it.
2) I want to learn why adults are into child pornography and also why kids sext. Is it because the parents aren’t watching over their kids? Or if they do it for “fitting in?” On the other hand, if child pornography is only through pictures or do these adults also want are turned on by seeing kids in schools or even a playground and get aroused by it? Eventually if our schools, babysitters, or in general our child givers are into child pornography and put our kids at risk, which is very scary to find out!
3) Which of the disciplines below is related to your topic? How?
- I believe psychology and sociology are the two main disciplinarians that are involved in my topic of sexting and child pornography.
- Psychology because it tells about the cognitive thinking of the individual and why they even have thoughts about being aroused and getting turned on by children. Also, psychology is applied because that tells us why kids or youngsters sext and why exactly they do it.
- Sociology because it helps us explore the pressure society puts on kids for them to act the way they do. Sexting is mostly done due to fitting in and being a part of the “cool group.” Also, many girls especially want to be liked by a guy and therefore want to send naked pictures to be accepted by boys. Sociology and psychology together help us prove why kids sext and child pornography is an issue.
4) Are there any known resources that are available for your research paper? I am still working on this section.
III 5 Ws
- What?–> My topic is addressing the dangers of sexting and how underage minors exposure can lead to child pornography.
- Who?–> Kids who sext and the people who receive these photos and texts and don’t prevent it although they know it is a crime….and technically child pornography.
- Why?–> I want to research this because I have been a part of it and I want to help others who are going through this. Also, I want to learn the psychological and sociological aspect of this topic. In addition, to stop this because many kids are probably being affected with older adults that don’t believe it is wrong, when it is.
- How?–> I want to create a thesis to support that certain texts and pictures of kids under 18 is truly child pornography and those adults who are doing this need to stop. I want to find and research evidence and help build my thesis by research on databases.
- Where?–> I want to focus mainly in the United States. This issue of sexting and child pornography is everywhere but I want to mainly focus on the US.
IV Important Points
I truly want to focus on the psychological and sociological factors that contribute to sexting. I believe I am able to cover all-important points in this paper with all the pages required. The topics include:
Why sexting happens? Why adults do this? Are they aware this is child pornography? The cognitive thinking process behind those actions and decisions. The sociological aspect…”fitting in,” “because everyone does it?” How many cases have already happened and a few incidents of it? The statistical data of arrests and guilty/not guilty If it is a two-way thing, or are minors being forced to do this, as in abuse?
be researching I will dig in deeper to find different aspects and angles I
depth even more. I believe all these topics for me are important to discuss in my paper, but some are at a higher level than others.
