By Nick DeMoss
As cell phone technology advances, teenagers are finding it easier than ever to reach out and touch one another. The ensuing legal battles have sparked controversy across the United States.
“Sexting” refers to the practice of sending sexually suggestive, nude or semi-nude pictures via text message. As long as everyone involved is over 18, sexting is legal between consenting parties. However, high school students across the country have been finding themselves in hot water with the police when explicit pictures are discovered.
Arkansas civil code dictates that any person who “compiles, enters into, or transmits (images of) … sexually explicit conduct of or with any child” is considered to be in possession of child pornography, a Class B felony. In Arkansas, a Class B felony can result in as much as a $15,000 fine and up to 20 years in prison.
The laws are the same across the nation. This means any people possessing a photo depicting someone who is a minor are technically felons, even if those people are minors themselves and the photo was sent consensually.
In Pennsylvania, three high school girls who sent seminude photos and four male students who received them were all charged with child pornography. In Ohio, a 15-year-old faced similar charges for sending racy photos to her classmates. These types of cases are emerging across the country, and they typically end in lesser convictions, in which teens are given curfews and restrictions on phone usage.
The risks related to sexting outweigh the rewards involved, said Chrystel Ford, a junior in the School of Social Work.
“I think it has damaging results,” she said. “For everyone involved, it’s not worth the lasting effects it could have for that five minutes of pleasure. People don’t really think about it. It could ruin your life.”
Ford added that the danger of sending pictures is that those images stay in the recipient’s possession, and their release could hurt the young person’s professional life and result in emotional damage.
“If those pictures get out there, future bosses could have access to them,” Ford said.
While sexting often originates between romantic partners, or as a form of flirtation between those wishing to become romantic partners, it can become public if those relations fall apart.
A study released in December by the Pew Research Center identified three basic scenarios for sexting: 1) exchange of images solely between two romantic partners, 2) exchanges between partners that are shared with others outside the relationship and 3) exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but where at least one person hopes to be.
Sophomore Kaleb Boyette said he recalled a case in his high school that related to the second scenario, when a nasty breakup ending in a mass text message sent to students that contained several extremely explicit photos of a female student.
“Basically, the whole school knew about it,” he said.
Therein lies the danger of sexting, according to a report by MSNBC. One of the most serious cases highlighting the dangers of sexting comes from Florida, where a 13-year-old girl sent a topless photo to a classmate, hoping to gain his attention. The message spread across the girl’s high school as well as a neighboring one, causing her to be incessantly harassed. She was suspended from school and from her extracurricular activities.
These mounting pressures and exclusions eventually led Hope Witsell to hang herself in her bedroom. The suicide, which took place late last year, was the second death caused by bullying related to sexting.
Boyette said that while sexting can become problematic, especially among minors, he finds the felony status of sexting too harsh.
“I think it definitely should not be a felony,” Boyette said. “I don’t think it should be punished that harshly. I think it should be left up to the parents – it’s their responsibility.”
According to an article by United Press International, Boyette is not alone. One New York lawyer is pushing for a federal sexting law, which would make the practice a misdemeanor among minors.
Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredSafety, agreed that current state laws are “too hot or too cold,” the Pittsburgh Tribune reported.
Vermont lawmakers passed a bill last year decriminalizing sexting. The law is the first of its kind in the country and serves to “exempt teens from child-porn laws for consensual image exchange.”
The Pew Research Center released a study in December detailing the frequency of sexting among teens. According to the survey, 4 percent of cell phone-owning teens said they had sent sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images of themselves to someone else via text message and 15 percent of cell phone-owning teens said they had received sexually suggestive, nude or nearly nude images of someone they know via text message.
Though no cases of criminal charges resulting from sexting have occurred in Washington County, a Sheriff’s Department representative said he “doesn’t doubt that it’s going on – it’s probably just not being reported.”
Fayetteville High School Assistant Principal David Young described the situation at his school as “so far, so good.” He added that parents of students at the school are very involved and would consult officials if such a thing occurred.
