Sexting

Don't say I didn't warn you. I have said that no good can come from sending or posting risque pictures of yourself and now there is hard evidence that, surprise surprise I was right! The down side to sexting is negative for both boys and girls. Here are two good reasons to stop sexting right away.

First we have the tragic story of Jessie Logan. Like many other teens Jessie sent a naked picture of herself to a boy she had been seeing for about 1 month. The young man was so crazy about her that he immediately sent the picture to four other girls representing at least 3 other high schools. The girls sent the picture out to everyone, and before Jessie knew it she was being mocked and bullied at school and online. Kids were calling her terrible names, and everywhere she went she was harrassed. "Jessie expressed regrets about taking and sending the photo, her mother said. She wanted to warn other kids. At Payne's suggestion, she did an anonymous television interview.
"My little girl wanted to get the message out to other children not to make the same mistake she did," Albert Logan said". How, do you ask did Jessie Logan deal with this constant abuse? She killed herself. One night while getting ready to go out, with her flat iron still warm she hung herself. She left no note, they know that she made 5 phone calls while getting dressed, walked out of the bathroom, passed her mother in the hallway without saying a word and that is the last time they saw her alive.
My question to all girls that engage in sexting or are thinking about participating is WHY? WHY in the world would you do this? There is nothing to gain by doing it. Do you think you will secure your life long love by sending nude photos of yourself to his cell phone? I saw a statistic that approximately 22% of female teens or 1 in 5 is already sexting. Let's reverse this trend and I show some respect for ourselves. A good rule of thumb, if it is a picture you would not want your mom, dad or grandmother to see then no one should see it.
Now the downside of sexting for boys; there is the young man who saw a girl for about two months in Wisconsin. She dumped him and started dating someone else, but not before she sent him 2 nude photos of herself. In a jealous rage, he sent the picture to all of her family members, including grandma, and to many of her friends. He is now a registered sex offender for distributing child pornography. He had to serve jail time and for the next 25 years every time he moves he will have to send a postcard to all of his neighbors letting them know of his sex offender status. I know she started it, right? After all, she sent the pictures. He was 14 months older than her, she was only 16 making her a child and he an adult. The exchanging of pornography over the Internet or a cell phone is a felony. Your age does not make you exempt from the laws of this land. A felony goes on your record and makes it hard to secure a future in a good college or even trying to land a job.
Sexting has serious consequences that will lead you down a road of many regrets. Listen up boys and girls stop sexting and keep your clothes on! Not listening to this sage advice will devastate you in the long run and I would have to work really hard to muster up any compassion for this stupid behavior!