Almost every teenager in the United States has access to a smart phone. Close to half report being online almost all the time. This year, more than two-thirds of year olds reported that online communication with their friends was preferable to in-person communication. As intimate relationships expand through technologic platforms, teenagers are finding new mediums for exploring their sexuality. So should older laws, created specifically to address child pornography, be used to prosecute modern-day teenagers who engage in sexting? As teenagers develop online romantic relationships, the inclination to share explicit pictures electronically i. US teens who pay their own cell phone bill are more likely to engage in sexting. Although sexting is legal between consenting adults, minors who exchange explicit images or videos are at risk of legal prosecution for possessing child pornography. Child pornography laws are designed to protect minors from becoming victims of sexual exploitation.


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Sexting among teens and tweens is a relatively new phenomenon, and many state legislatures are still trying to determine what to do about it. Because of this, laws concerning sexting vary widely. It can be easy to assume your child would never sext someone else, but kids often feel pressure to exchange sexual messages , images, or videos, so taking the time to have an open conversation with them can give them the opportunity to express any concerns. If you need extra support, Bark can help by alerting you about sexual content so you can talk through issues if your kid experiences them. These can be nude or semi-nude images or just explicit texts. Typically, sexting occurs via text message, but any electronic transfer fits the definition — emailing, sending Instagram DMs, Snapchat selfies, and even TikTok messages.
What are the Punishments for Sexting with a Minor in California?
Posted on January 31, in Sex Crimes. The availability of technology for teenagers has given rise to new internet criminal sex acts. Whether it is via Facetime, Skype, text messages, or other forms of electronic communications, minors can find themselves in dangerous situations with other minors or adults. Sexting is the term used to describe sending and receiving sexually explicit language, photographs, videos, and other content electronically to another person.
By Mark Theoharis. Since cell phones first saw widespread adoption in the s, they've become not just ever present, but have developed vastly expanded capabilities, such as the ability to take and instantly share photos. This ability has lead to the phenomena of "sexting," where people send suggestive or nude pictures to others using their cell phones. Some states have adopted laws that prescribe penalties aimed specifically at teenagers or adolescents who send such photos. These laws make the penalties for teen sexting less severe than if an adult would send similar photos to an under-age person. To get state specific details regarding sexting, jump ahead to teen sexting laws by state. Sexting laws are a relatively new phenomena in the law. Though specific teen sexting laws are not present in a majority of states, the trend appears to be towards more widespread adoption of sexting laws. In the meantime, in those states without sexting laws, sexting may still be punished under pre-existing laws that target child pornography.