My first “What the crap is this on my son’s phone” moment was over 14 years ago. This amazing son pictured here with me was barely 14 years old and thought he was all the rage with his Razor flip phone. When locking up the house one night I walked into his room to turn out his light. He was fast asleep and his phone was charging on his window sill with a blinking light showing he had an incoming text message. I flipped open his phone and there it was, a picture of a naked teen staring back at me. The text read ‘Hey, you don’t know me but I sit in the back row of your English class, do you want to hook up?’. Yes, that moment in time was a game-changer for me as a dad.
Sexting is not going out of style, though many have become numb to it over the years. Sexting is increasing in popularity among teens. A recent study shows that 20% of 13 to 17 year old’s openly admitted they have used their phones for sexting and 39% admitted to forwarding an inappropriate picture they had received. Come on, we all know teenagers, if that many admit openly how many are really involved, the number could be staggering.
The point is… parents talk to your kids, not only to keep them safe from this content but because teen sexting is a federal crime in the U.S. Anyone who sends or receives a nude photo of a child could be charged with distribution of child pornography. Convicted teens may even have to be registered as a sex offender.
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