Illegal Teen Sexting
Teen sexting is becoming an ever growing epidemic and with more advanced phones and technology, more teens are taking part. The article “Teens, Nude Photos and the Law” by Dahlia Lithwick, makes strong points on sexting and the law. Lithwick’s article explains the correlation between teens who sext and the law, and she disagrees with how it is handled. Even though Lithwick makes a strong case about how girls should not get most of the charges, she is incorrect when it comes to saying how few numbers of teens are sexual predators, and teens should not be as punished harshly by the law as they are now.
Teen sexting has increased among teens, and more are being prosecuted. Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding inappropriate or naked photos from your cell phone. Teens all over the United States have been caught sexting, and as a result, they have been charged for child pornography and for possessing these photos:“If convicted, these young people may have to register as sex offenders, in some cases for a decade or two” (Lithwick par. 2). Police are becoming more involved in the issue because some people think when a person sends out the pictures of someone, it is cyberbullying. For this reason, police think sexting deserves serious consequences since it is a serious crime. However, the real problem is that in most cases, these kids are not predators, and these kids should not be prosecuted. Plus, if girls are the ones being hurt and pressured by boys, then the boys should get most of the charges instead of the girls. In conclusion, even though sexting can have consequences, teens who sext should not be prosecuted as harshly as they are now: “Parents need to remind their teens that a dumb moment can last a lifetime in cyberspace, but judges and prosecutors need to understand that a lifetime of cyber humiliation shouldn’t not be grounds for a lifelong real criminal record” (Lithwick par. 7).
A strong point that Lithwick makes is about how how the charges are backwards. She states, “Paradoxically, the girls in the Pennsylvania case were charged with ‘manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography’ while the boys were merely charged with possession. If the girls are the real victims, why are we treating them more harshly than the boys?” (Lithwick par. 6). This shows that when a couple is caught, the girl will get more charges against them than the guy, even if she is not at fault. Both the girl and boy are part of the problem, but girls are usually the victim by being tricked into sending naked pictures. In school, boys are trying to trick girls into sending them nude pictures of themselves. These boys are the real culprits and should receive most of the punishment.
Lithwick says that judges are not able to truly criminalize teens for sexting because there are certain problems. She says, “The real problem with criminalizing teen sexting as a form of child pornography is that the great majority of these kids are not predators” (Lithwick par. 6). The author is trying to convey that most teens who sext back and forth are not sexual predators as the law makes them appear, but just regular kids. The problem with this, is that most teens are not so innocent, and I see how often most teens are not. Most teens at first will say they are just having fun or showing how much they “love” each other, but with one bad breakup, those pictures can be spread throughout the school like a virus. It may not start out as a cruel joke, but some kids get naked pictures to show their friends to make fun of them. This leads to the victim, usually girls, to feel bad about themselves. This is a form of bullying and this happens often.
Lithwick does not like how the justice system works with teens who sext. She states, “Judging from the sexting prosecutions in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana this year, it is clear that the criminal-justice system is too blunt an instrument to resolve a problem that reflects more about the volatile combination of teens and technology than about some national cybercrime spree” (Lithwick par. 7). Here, Lithwick strongly believes the system is too hard on kids who get charged for sexting, and the justice system should focus on how kids and technology react instead of making this seem like a crime spree of teen predators. I do think that there is a better way to approach sexting, but I do think it should be blunt, otherwise kids will keep on sexting. The worst part about teens sexting is some teens just use sexting to bully others. There are many times where kids do not want to come to school just from their pictures being spread around school, so these kids should not be punished for being bullied. In some cases, some do think of taking their own lives and some do.
In conclusion, Lithwick does make strong points about teens who sext and the law when they are caught. There has to be a change about boys receiving more of the charges than the girls. However, a lot of teens are cruel and quite a few are predators, so there has to be a punishment. Plus, the punishment needs to be harsh, since teens will not take sexting seriously if there is no real threat. As a Pennsylvania police captain explains, “It's very dangerous. Once it is on a cell phone, that cell phone can be put on the Internet where everyone in the world can get access to that juvenile picture" (qtd in Lithwick par. 5). One little mistake could ruin a life with just a cell phone.
Teen sexting has increased among teens, and more are being prosecuted. Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding inappropriate or naked photos from your cell phone. Teens all over the United States have been caught sexting, and as a result, they have been charged for child pornography and for possessing these photos:“If convicted, these young people may have to register as sex offenders, in some cases for a decade or two” (Lithwick par. 2). Police are becoming more involved in the issue because some people think when a person sends out the pictures of someone, it is cyberbullying. For this reason, police think sexting deserves serious consequences since it is a serious crime. However, the real problem is that in most cases, these kids are not predators, and these kids should not be prosecuted. Plus, if girls are the ones being hurt and pressured by boys, then the boys should get most of the charges instead of the girls. In conclusion, even though sexting can have consequences, teens who sext should not be prosecuted as harshly as they are now: “Parents need to remind their teens that a dumb moment can last a lifetime in cyberspace, but judges and prosecutors need to understand that a lifetime of cyber humiliation shouldn’t not be grounds for a lifelong real criminal record” (Lithwick par. 7).
A strong point that Lithwick makes is about how how the charges are backwards. She states, “Paradoxically, the girls in the Pennsylvania case were charged with ‘manufacturing, disseminating or possessing child pornography’ while the boys were merely charged with possession. If the girls are the real victims, why are we treating them more harshly than the boys?” (Lithwick par. 6). This shows that when a couple is caught, the girl will get more charges against them than the guy, even if she is not at fault. Both the girl and boy are part of the problem, but girls are usually the victim by being tricked into sending naked pictures. In school, boys are trying to trick girls into sending them nude pictures of themselves. These boys are the real culprits and should receive most of the punishment.
Lithwick says that judges are not able to truly criminalize teens for sexting because there are certain problems. She says, “The real problem with criminalizing teen sexting as a form of child pornography is that the great majority of these kids are not predators” (Lithwick par. 6). The author is trying to convey that most teens who sext back and forth are not sexual predators as the law makes them appear, but just regular kids. The problem with this, is that most teens are not so innocent, and I see how often most teens are not. Most teens at first will say they are just having fun or showing how much they “love” each other, but with one bad breakup, those pictures can be spread throughout the school like a virus. It may not start out as a cruel joke, but some kids get naked pictures to show their friends to make fun of them. This leads to the victim, usually girls, to feel bad about themselves. This is a form of bullying and this happens often.
Lithwick does not like how the justice system works with teens who sext. She states, “Judging from the sexting prosecutions in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana this year, it is clear that the criminal-justice system is too blunt an instrument to resolve a problem that reflects more about the volatile combination of teens and technology than about some national cybercrime spree” (Lithwick par. 7). Here, Lithwick strongly believes the system is too hard on kids who get charged for sexting, and the justice system should focus on how kids and technology react instead of making this seem like a crime spree of teen predators. I do think that there is a better way to approach sexting, but I do think it should be blunt, otherwise kids will keep on sexting. The worst part about teens sexting is some teens just use sexting to bully others. There are many times where kids do not want to come to school just from their pictures being spread around school, so these kids should not be punished for being bullied. In some cases, some do think of taking their own lives and some do.
In conclusion, Lithwick does make strong points about teens who sext and the law when they are caught. There has to be a change about boys receiving more of the charges than the girls. However, a lot of teens are cruel and quite a few are predators, so there has to be a punishment. Plus, the punishment needs to be harsh, since teens will not take sexting seriously if there is no real threat. As a Pennsylvania police captain explains, “It's very dangerous. Once it is on a cell phone, that cell phone can be put on the Internet where everyone in the world can get access to that juvenile picture" (qtd in Lithwick par. 5). One little mistake could ruin a life with just a cell phone.
Works Cited Page
Lithwick, Dahlia. "Teens, Nude Photos and the Law." Newsweek. Newsweek LLC, 23 Feb. 2009. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
<http://www.newsweek.com/lithwick-teens-nude-photos-and-law-82721?piano_t=1>
<http://www.newsweek.com/lithwick-teens-nude-photos-and-law-82721?piano_t=1>