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Tag: sexting

  • Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton: No Sexting for This Couple

    Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton: No Sexting for This Couple

    Gwen Stefani swears in a recent interview with Time magazine that she and boyfriend Blake Shelton have never sexted. In fact, the No Doubt front woman wasn’t even familiar with the term.

    “I’ve never sexted before,” the multi-Grammy winner said. “What’s sexting?”

    Gwen Stefani’s new album, “This is What the Truth Feels Like” dropped today, and the mom of three has undergone many changes since she last released an album. The year was 2006, and she was married to Gavin Rossdale then.

    Gavin Rossdale engaged in something akin to sexting when a nanny shared some sweet talk with him and Gwen Stefani found it on the family’s iPad. Now the two are divorced and she is dating Blake Shelton.

    Since her split from the Bush front man, Gwen Stefani has worked diligently at redefining her life. In addition to meeting and falling in love with Blake Shelton, she appeared as a coach on The Voice and created this new album.

    Although Gwen doesn’t like the fact that Gavin Rossdale gets to have their children for half of the time in a 50/50 custody arrangement, she isn’t letting that get her down either. She and Blake Shelton do some fun things with sons Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo when they’re with their mom, leaving her plenty of time to spend solo with Blake, and to work on her music, too.

    Have you checked out Gwen Stefani’s new album yet? Are you a bit shocked, given how much of a modern woman that Gwen Stefani is, that she and Blake Shelton haven’t sexted?

    Maybe one day those tables will turn.

  • Teens Tweet Group Sex Video, Get Hit with Child Porn Charges

    Teens Tweet Group Sex Video, Get Hit with Child Porn Charges

    Four Joliet, Illinois teens could spend the next few years in a juvenile facility after posting a group sex video on Twitter.

    Three boys, aged 14, 15, and 16, and one girl, aged 15, were arrested after the girl’s mother notified police of the footage, which was circulating around Twitter. All four teens have been charged with distributing child pornography.

    Of course, it’s more complicated than that. Did the teens technically distribute child porn? Yes, it was a group sex video involving minors. But they were the minors in the video. Can teens really be charged with child porn if it’s their own body in said “porn”?

    Yes they can, and have. Over the past few years, with the rise of sexting, smartphone cameras, and social media, states have been scrambling to figure out how to deal with teens’ technological expressions of sexuality.

    Teen sexting laws vary from state to state – with some having already penned new laws to address the practice. Other states, however, can only consider the act of disseminating your own naked photos and videos as child porn.

    Illinois authorities have chosen the latter route in this case.

    “The child pornography offense that was charged is in place for a reason, because we don’t want to accept that type of behavior as a society. It’s making a strong statement, and I think it’s important to do so, to send a message to others that kids shouldn’t be involved in this type of behavior, and hopefully this will serve as a deterrent,” said Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton.

    Did you catch that? There’s a huge problem with this logic, and Benton’s statement reads like the laws are in place to legislate morality, as opposed to really protecting children. Don’t like what teens are up to? Threaten them with lifelong sex offender designation. That oughta do it.

    “It’s an incident you may not recover from,” said Benton.

    Exactly. Are we really going to put teens on sexual offender databases for the rest of their lives for being kids and making arguably dumb decisions? I’m sure we can all agree that posting a sex tape on Twitter is ill-advised – especially for a 15-year-old. But is it really a sex crime?

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Kris Jenner’s Sexting And Loud Sex With Younger Man Annoys Her Family

    Kris Jenner seems to be having too much fun for her daughters’ taste.

    Following the second episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians Season 10, 59-year-old and mother of six Jenner whips out her flirting skills on 33-year-old Corey Gamble.

    Scott Disick and Kylie Jenner took the awkward front row seats on Jenner’s sexy text messages to Gamble when the two started joking about checking who the matriarch has been flirting with.

    “I don’t know if Kris googled how to be sexy over text, but she’s doing it and it’s inappropriate and very uncomfortable,” Disick said.

    The horrified Jenner defended herself by saying, “We’re just hanging out right now. I don’t think I will ever get married again.”

    Khloe confronted her mother on her dating gamble with Gamble saying, “”I know that look and that feeling. That leads me to believe you might be into him.”

    ‘You can f*** whoever you want, just don’t get married right now,’ Khloe advised.

    “She’s newly single. We’ve got to get her in the playing field. I just don’t know what kind of man she expects or is going to want at this point,” Disick said to Kylie.

    “I think the same age, but I don’t think she thinks the same age,” Kylie replied. “She’s a cougar.”

    Worse than having read your mother’s sexting is hearing her having actual sex.

    Kim admits to being woken up at night because of her mother’s bedroom activities. “The bed, like, bangs up against the wall,” she told her sisters.

    Tired of her daughters grilling her on the spot, Jenner took the “mommy card” out and told her girls off. “It’s so annoying that my own family is being so judgmental because all I really want to do is live my life,” she said.

    Gamble and Jenner were first introduced at Riccardo Tisci’s 40th birthday party on August 2014 in Ibiza, Spain. Gamble is working with Justin Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun. Kim and husband Kanye West were also present at the party.

  • Sydney Leathers: Porn Star Sexting with Another Politician

    Sydney Leathers is the porn star who brought Anthony Weiner’s political career to a grinding halt, at least temporarily. Now Sydney Leathers may have another political figure in her sights.

    Justin Moed, State Representative from Indiana has been accused of sexting by Sydney Leathers.

    Moed has admitted to the activity with Sydney Leathers, but is not going out like Weiner did.

    “I messed up, OK. And I’m sorry. And I’m trying to work through it, processing it as a human, as any other human would try to. I’m really thankful for all the people who reached out,” Moed said Monday. “It was a difficult few days.”

    He is drawing a distinction between his handling of the incident and how Anthony Weiner handled it. Weiner denied and equivocated multiple times until he was finally cornered in a scandal that likely never would have been as big as it got.

    Moed, instead, made a statement:

    “I committed the act. My reaction was talk to my parents, talk to my fiancee and come clean,” he said. “We’re all human, and we all make mistakes, but I don’t believe that this defines me as who I am. And I think that what speaks to that is the people who have reached out from the community and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.”

    Sydney Leathers told RadarOnline that she has been in contact with Justin Moed for about a month. She had announced on Twitter that she was looking for a new #FinDom slave. FinDom is short for “financial domination.” Sydney Leathers asked for someone to pay for and send her gifts for the opportunity to sext with her.

    A man going by the handle @bitchboy4you took up the challenge. At first, Leathers did not know who he was. He kept his identity a closely guarded secret.

    “He didn’t want me to know who he was,” she said. “He wouldn’t pay me normally through Paypal. He would get prepaid stuff. He even said something like ‘I’m not trying to be weird, but I can’t tell you who I am.’”

    But she says @bitchboy4you slipped up. He sent her a gift of shoes and lingerie through Amazon, but the enclosed paperwork revealed his name.

    “His name was on the billing stuff,” she said. So she Googled “Justin Moed.”

    “I noticed the campaign signs,” Leathers said. “It was too damn funny.”

    Leathers says that Justin Moed was very graphic about his preferences.

    “He was literally like telling me immediately he wanted to give me a strap-on to use on him,” she said. “A big black one. Later in our conversation, he admitted to me had been with a black guy before as a bottom.”

    “He also talked about … I guess he had had a dominatrix before and she made him wear a French maid outfit and clean her house and clean her car he wanted to do that for me,” she said. “He also wanted to be in a closet tied up and be forced to watch me be with my boyfriend.”

    “He had told me he was a Democrat and we definitely talked about liberal issues a little bit,” she said.

  • Justin Moed: Another Pol Outed by Anthony Weiner’s Sexting Partner?

    Justin Moed, State Representative from Indiana, is finding himself in some hot water this week. The politician has been accused of sexting by none other than the same woman who outed Anthony Weiner.

    Sydney Leathers told RadarOnline that she has been in contact with Justin Moed for about a month. She had announced online that she ws looking for a new #FinDom slave. FinDom is short for “financial domination.” Some call them “money slaves.” In essence, Sydney Leathers asked for someone to pay for and send her gifts for the opportunity to sext with her.

    A man going by the handle @BitchBoy took up the challenge. At first, Leathers did not know who he was. He kept his identity a closely guarded secret.

    “He didn’t want me to know who he was,” she said. “He wouldn’t pay me normally through Paypal. He would get prepaid stuff. He even said something like ‘I’m not trying to be weird, but I can’t tell you who I am.’”

    But she says @bitchboy4you slipped up. He sent her a gift of shoes and lingerie through Amazon, but the enclosed paperwork revealed his name.

    “His name was on the billing stuff,” she said. So she Googled “Justin Moed.”

    “I noticed the campaign signs,” Leathers said. “It was too damn funny.”

    Leathers says that Justin Moed was very graphic about his preferences.

    “He was literally like telling me immediately he wanted to give me a strap-on to use on him,” she said. “A big black one. Later in our conversation, he admitted to me had been with a black guy before as a bottom.”

    “He also talked about … I guess he had had a dominatrix before and she made him wear a French maid outfit and clean her house and clean her car he wanted to do that for me,” she said. “He also wanted to be in a closet tied up and be forced to watch me be with my boyfriend.”

    Justin Moed’s official tweets are protected and only open to people he allows to follow him. But his Twitter bio says he is:

    State Representative for downtown Indy and the near south and west sides. Homeowner in Garfield Park. Graduate of Butler University. Urban Farmer.

    Leathers says that her conversations with @bitchboy4you could have given her clues that he was another politico.

    “He had told me he was a Democrat and we definitely talked about liberal issues a little bit,” she said.

    The Twitter profile that she communicated with @bitchboy4you through is undergoing some changes, including removal of a profile photo of a man’s naked backside. But, as one poster points out, you can’t take something back once it’s online.

  • Snapchat Wants You to Keep Your Clothes On

    Snapchat has grown far beyond its initial designation as “that sexting app with the disappearing messages”, and the app is being used for things far beyond your basic boob shot and dick pic. Brands are getting in the mix and there’s even been specific content created for the Snapchat platform (Madonna debuted a music video on Snapchat).

    But it’s Snapchat. There’s gonna be sexting. Any attempt to act like that’s not going on is laughable, at best.

    But Snapchat would like you to keep your clothes on. Especially if you’re a minor.

    Fusion spotted that Snapchat just recently debuted a new Snapchat Safety Center, complete with new community guidelines, safety tips, and FAQs for parents.

    And in those guidelines, Snapchat is pretty clear on your porny snaps:

    Be thoughtful about what you Snap and whom you send it to. It’s okay with us if someone takes a screenshot, but we can’t speak for you or your friends. Snapchat attempts to detect screenshots and notify the sender, but it doesn’t always work perfectly – and your friend can always capture the image with a camera.

    Keep it legal. Don’t use Snapchat for any illegal shenanigans and if you’re under 18 or are Snapping with someone who might be: keep your clothes on!

    What not to Snap:

    Pornography
    Nudity or sexually suggestive content involving minors (people under the age of 18)
    Minors engaged in activities that are physically dangerous and harmful
    Invasions of privacy
    Threats
    Harassment or Bullying
    Impersonation
    Self-Harm

    Violating these rules may result in the removal of content, the suspension of your account and being prohibited from using Snapchat in the future.

    Of course, banning anything involving nudity and minors is definitely warranted. On the other hand, it’s probably a bit hollow to threaten account suspension for adults who send “pornography”.

    Though you might think of Snapchat as the land of T&A, there’s research to suggest that it might not be as prevalent as we all believe. A study conducted by the University of Washington found that only 1.6% of Snapchat users say they use the app primarily for sexting – but 14.2% admitted to having sexting with the app.

    But that’s self-reporting – and we all know how that goes.

  • Kandi Burruss Apologizes To Kenya Moore Over Sexting Scandal

    On the latest episode of Bravo’s hit reality program, The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kenya Moore broke down and got emotional over the sexting allegations between her and Apollo Nida, the husband of her co-star Phaedra Parks.

    After Nida’s televised apology managed to sway fellow Housewife Kandi Burruss to Moore’s side, the two found themselves bonding over kickboxing practice and talking about the scandal. “I am going to do what I feel is right. It is wrong to have dissed this woman for two years, so I am going to apologize,” Burruss said to the cameras during her confessional moment.

    The Kandi Factory star told Moore about what the other Housewives thought about her which then catapulted Moore to an emotional outburst. Moore rushed to the gym toilet, broke down, and shoved away the cameras. The microphones continued recording the encounter and Moore was heard saying, “I am not the f***ing liar, that man is a criminal, clearly there is something wrong with him. I have not done anything to them to deserve the things that they do to me.”

    “They go too far, they are evil Kandi,” she added.

    Before the emotional moment, Burruss had a spa day with Nene Leakes, Porsha Williams, and Phaedra Parks where they continued to dish out their hate for Moore. Leakes believe that Nida lied about lying just to make his soon-to-be ex-wife Williams angry.

    Moore continues to struggle with the cold treatment that her fellow Housewives has given her. “I cannot win with these women. They want me to fail and to be painted as this crazy, horrible person. Why?”

    For two years, the Housewives had maintained a safe distance away from Moore after Nida’s affair allegations. Nida has been slapped with an eight-year prison sentence after pleading guilty for bank fraud and identity theft last May and is due to enter jail soon.

  • Dumb Sexting Case Gets Even Dumber As Cops Try to Photograph Teen’s Erect Penis

    The Manassas City Police Department and Prince William County prosecutors would like to combat child porn by creating some of their own.

    The Washington Post reports on some real messed up stuff going on in Virginia as a 17-year-old boy is facing charges of possession of child pornography and manufacturing child pornography for simply sexting his 15-year-old girlfriend (after she sexted him first). Mind you, these charges could not only jail the teen but land him on a sex offender database for the rest of his life. The girl has not been charged.

    I guess I could stop there, but the dumb continues.

    According to the unidentified teen’s lawyer, police and prosecutors are seeking a warrant to photograph his erect penis – you know, for comparison’s sake.

    “We just take him down to the hospital, give him a shot and then take the pictures that we need,” a state prosecutor reportedly told the teen’s attorney.

    This genius plan was first offered as part of an ultimatum – either the teen pleads guilty or they take him down to the hospital and snap photos of his erect penis. Apparently, the teen denied to plead guilty and the strong arm of the law jumped into action. The search warrant was granted earlier this month, but the teen was given permission to leave the state with his family before it could be executed. He has another court date on July 15.

    “They’re using a statute that was designed to protect children from being exploited in a sexual manner to take a picture of this young man in a sexually explicit manner. The irony is incredible.” said the teen’s appointed guardian. “As a parent myself, I was floored. It’s child abuse. We’re wasting thousands of dollars and resources and man hours on a sexting case. That’s what we’re doing.”

    Yeah, ya think?

    While the boner pic warrant is ridiculous, let’s quickly comment on how utterly astounding it is that authorities are going after teens’ sexting activities with such vigor, labeling young children as sex offenders for engaging in normal sexual activity. That’s the real travesty here.

    “The prosecutor’s job is to seek justice,” said the teen’s lawyer “What is just about this? How does this advance the interest of the Commonwealth?”

    Well, it doesn’t. Write your congressperson.

  • Anthony Weiner Loses Election, Chased Through McD’s

    Anthony Weiner has made a habit of getting bad press attached to his name for a long time now. Many people probably remember him for sending sexual pictures to a woman named Sydney Leathers. Weiner, who once held a seat in the House of Representatives, was left with no choice but to resign his seat after the scandal occurred in 2011. He maintained this sexting scandal while being married to his wife, Huma Abedin.

    Weiner was running for mayor in New York City, and while at one point, he looked to be a front-runner in the race, things could not have gone any worse and he ended up in last place. He was on his way to resurrecting his political career after the embarrassing scandal, but support dropped quickly after more news from his past resurfaced. His previous sexting partner, Leathers, went public with information that Weiner had continued to trade explicit photos with her even after his resignation from the House of Representatives, according to E online. In order to avoid being caught again, she also revealed that he started using the pseudonym of Carlos Danger. I wonder where he came up with that one, trying to intimidate someone?

    After an embarrassing loss in the mayoral race, Weiner was taped flipping the bird to a curbside reporter as he left his primary night election party. It is sad when the careers of politicians seem to be continually derailed by personal mistakes, and Weiner has become the master at that in recent years. A handful of journalists took to twitter to discuss the absurdity of what Weiner did this time.

    Sydney Leathers was able to completely derail Weiner’s career without ever even meet him. Yesterday, she showed up to his party in a skintight red dress, hoping to finally meet him. She stood outside hoping to encounter him, while this simply caused him to have to sneak into his own party and was forced to delay his concession speech. Leathers, a young woman only 23 years of age told reporters outside, “I’m kind of the reason he’s losing. So, might as well show up.” She was able to bring his once popular campaign to a screeching halt, says the Contra Costa Times.

    To top it all off, Weiner attempted to evade Leathers by entering a McDonald’s that was next to where he was supposed to be giving his concession speech. However, before he could get too far away, she followed him in and let a whole string of press in along with her. Will he ever be able to live this one down? While being known for sending pictures of his penis, the public will certainly tolerate a middle finger going up and be thankful that nothing worse happened this time around.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • People Are Checking Your Facebook Page Before Dates, and Other Fun Facts on Single People and Tech

    Match.com has just put out their third-annual “Singles in America” study and it contains some pretty interesting information on how people are using social media and the internet in their dating/sex lives.

    Probably the most telling piece of data collected in the study is that nearly half (48%) of all women surveyed do some Facebook digging on their date partner before the date begins. Only 38% of men copped to doing pre-date Facebook research and 49% said that the practice was “unacceptable.”

    Women are also more likely to be turned off by what they find. 49% said they would cancel a date based solely on information unearthed by their Facebook research. Only 27% of men said that they would cancel.

    Both women and men are aware of the need to “clean up” their Facebook profiles in order to put their best online foot forward (26% and 27%, respectively).

    Other interesting stats from the study:

    • Over half of single men (57%) and 45% of single women have received a sext (sexy photo or explicit text), and 23% of these singles have shared them with others. Of that 23%, a whopping 42% of men and 28% of women said they shared the sext with three or more people
    • 42% of single men reported they would not be offended if a recipient shared their sext with others, vs. 13% of women.
    • 77% of women would not date someone who was secretive with their texts vs. 53% of men.

  • Facebook Working on Snapchat-Like App for Secret Agents & Sexters [REPORT]

    This message will self-destruct in 3, 2, 1…

    Facebook is making another move to assert itself into the private messaging space, as the company is reportedly working on a standalone app that takes its cues from another popular messaging app called Snapchat.

    Snapchat allows users to send and receive covert messages that have a pre-determined shelf life. When a user chooses to send a photo, text, or video message, they also choose how long they want the message to exist. When that amount of time passes (could be seconds, could be hours), the message is wiped from the recipient’s phone and from the Snapchat servers. If the recipient happens to screencap the message, the Snapchat app will let the sender know.

    Snapchat says their app is “instantly fun and insanely playful,” and apparently Facebook wants to capitalize on the concept with their one billion+ MAUs. All Things D quotes sources familiar with the matter who say that the company is currently testing their own version of the Snapchat app that would exist separately from the Facebook app – similar to how their standalone Messenger and Camera apps work.

    The sources claim that Facebook is so close to launching the app that it will be here before the end of the year.

    “Fun and playful,” yes – but Snapchat has also been dubbed the “sexting” app by some. That’s made it controversial with some parents, who are worried that the self-destructing nature of the messages leads them to be used for “inappropriate” communications. Facebook could have a big hit on its hands if they can create a good app, considering they have something Snapchat doesn’t have – an already in-place network of a billion users. If the app is good enough, Facebook could very well steal this concept from the popular-in-its-own-right Snapchat.

    [Lead Image is Snapchat, not the rumored Facebook app]

  • Sexting, F-Bomb, and Mash-up Added to the Dictionary

    As a word nerd, it’s always fun to see new words enter the lexicon. Language is constantly evolving, and every so often our dictionaries must adapt to the changing landscape.

    And a lot of the time, that means creating official entries for words engendered from pop culture, technology, and the internet.

    Now, if you look through the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, you’ll likely see a few new words that you’re probably already familiar with – you know, from everyday speech and all. Official dictionaries can’t quite keep up with the rapid pace of language evolution, but you have to commend them for doing what they can.

    And this year, that means adding new words like “sexting” to the official dictionary.

    Other tech/internet-related words gaining entry this year include “mash-up” and “cloud computing.”

    On the pop culture side, you have things like “man cave,” “earworm,” and “aha moment.”

    And then you have the most controversial new entry, “f-bomb.” or “the word f*ck —used metaphorically as a euphemism.”

    From a blog post:

    “Some of the new words this year provide colorful images,” says Merriam-Webster Editor at Large Peter Sokolowski. “Terms like ‘man cave,’ ‘underwater’ (when used to describe mortgages), ‘earworm,’ and ‘bucket list’ paint vivid pictures in your mind. They show that English-speakers can be very creative as they describe the world around them.” Merriam-Webster’s editors monitor the changing language and add new terms to the dictionary once those words come into widespread use across a variety of publications.

    In all, 16 new words were added for 2012 –

    1. aha moment
    2. bucket list
    3. cloud computing
    4. copernicium
    5. earworm
    6. energy drink
    7. f-bomb
    8. game changer
    9. gassed
    10. gastropub
    11. man cave
    12. mash-up
    13. sexting
    14. systemic risk
    15. underwater
    16. f-bomb

    By comparison, many of these words seem rather commonplace. Last year, the Oxford English Dictionary (online editions) added OMG, BFF, LOL, Twittersphere, NSFW, and newb.

  • Sexting Leads To Risky Sexual Behavior In Teen Girls, According To Study

    A three-year study into the sexting habits of teens has found that the practice is as prevalent as ever, and that has some interesting implications on the teens’ actual sexual activity – especially for girls.

    The study “Teen Sexting and Its Association With Sexual Behaviors,” published in July’s issue of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, looked at close to 1000 14 to 19-year-olds across seven public high schools in Texas. Researchers found that 28% of the teens said that they have sent a nude picture of themselves via text or email. Moreover, 57% said that they have been asked to send nude photos.

    When it comes to sending sexts, there wasn’t much of a statistical difference between boys and girls. But when it came to how those sexting practices affected their other sexual decisions, there was a gender discrepancy:

    Moreover, teen girls who engaged in sexting behaviors also had a higher prevalence of risky sex behaviors, including multiple partners and using drugs or alcohol before sex. Thus, among girls, the use of sexting behaviors appears to coincide with much higher engagement in risky sex behaviors.

    But the same wasn’t exactly true for teen guys:

    The same is not true for boys, for whom only having been asked for a sext was related to risky sex behaviors. It is possible that sexting, like actual sexual behaviors, is perceived more permissively and positively for boys, and thus not considered a risky behavior and therefore less likely to be associated with other risky behaviors.

    Girls also reported being “bothered” by requests for nude pics more than boys – by a margin of 27% to 3%. It appears that most teenage boys either don’t mind or actually like receiving such a request.

    There was also a racial difference in who was sending and receiving sexts – Whites and African Americans were more likely that Hispanics and Asians.

    It’s clear that sexting is a fairly common practice among today’s youth. Although many would adopt the “kids will by kids” argument and might feel as though it’s not really a big deal, opponents could cite another recent survey that linked teen sexting to depression and other forms of psychological distress.

    For parents, whether or not they think sexting is a big deal, it’s obvious that it’s common enough now to require it make an appearance in any talks that they have with their teens about sex.

    [via Mashable]

  • SnapChat Deletes Sexting Photos After They’re Viewed

    Though the makers of Snapchat never actually come out and say it, their app is quite obviously intended to erase sexting photos after they have been sent.

    The service has one purpose: deleting picture messages a few seconds after you send them to your friends.

    On their iTunes Preview they invite you to “show your friends how clever you can be and enjoy the lightness of being!” The accompanying pictures are of bikini clad girls (one with clever app feature placement, that makes them appear nude). So, if you love to send semi-nude pictures to your friends, you now have the ability to delete them before said friend turns on you and decides to post alluring pictures of you all over the internet.

    (image)

    The app is Rated 12+, but if I were to advise a conscientious parent, I would not let my child have this app. The product description lists it as having Infrequent/Mild Sexual Content or Nudity – Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References – Infrequent/Mild Mature/Suggestive Themes – Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor but they really have no way of knowing what kind of content will actually be shown. And neither would a parent, if they wanted to monitor their kid’s cellphone activity.

    (image)

    [via: Gizmodo]

  • Ever Accidentally Sexted A Family Member? You’re Not Alone

    Sexting has been around for hundreds of years, but it has just exploded in our day and age. Since basically everyone carries around a mobile device, the large majority of which are equipped with some sort of camera, the impulse to send and receive sexytime messages with your dearly beloved is just too strong to resist for most people. Your ancestors were sexting too, it was just a longer process and involved pen, paper, and possibly a carrier pigeon. Yeah, I’ve read some of those old-time letters – folks back in the day weren’t all that different from kids today.

    With all of this access to immediate gratification, one thing must be remembered by anyone who wants to send a sext: Before sending that racy message, double-check the recipient.

    A survey of randy Brits from Recombu reveals that 12% of people in the UK have mistakenly sent a sext to a family member. Fellas, you seem to be the least careful (16%) as opposed to the ladies (8%).

    Even more of the sample reported sexting the wrong person, maybe a friend or a stranger – 25% of males and 16% of females. Overall, nearly half of all surveyed said they were sexters.

    This is a survey of people in the UK, but I can’t imagine that they are simply worse at sexting across the pond. I’m sure plenty of people around the world need to take a little bit more time before they sext. Perhaps they need to go to sexting school.

    Check out the full infographic below for some more interesting stats about the sexting nation:

    (image)

    [Lead Image from DamnFunnyTexts]

  • Sexting Linked To Depression, Suicide

    Sexting Linked To Depression, Suicide

    Research that has just been released by the Education Development Center in Massachusetts is linking sexting to some pretty serious psychological problems.

    The study, which sampled 23,000 students in the Boston area, found that “sexting can include overtones of bullying and coercion, and teens who are involved were more likely to report being psychologically distressed, depressed or even suicidal.”

    In fact, twice as many teens who reported sexting in the past year had depressive symptoms, compared to teens that said they didn’t sext. When you talk about suicide attempts, the trend is similar. 13 percent of sexting teens reported an attempt in the last year, compared to only 3% of non-sexting kids.

    Of course, “sexting” can mean a lot of different things to different people – like the sending of explicit photos or even just having explicit conversations. For the purposes of this study, “sexting” was defined as sending or posting sexually suggestive or explicit nude photos or videos.

    In general, 13% of the students surveyed said that they have received a sext in the last year.

    The lead researcher Shari Schneider wants to make sure we know that it’s not necessarily a causal relationship between sexting and depression, but that there’s definitely a link –

    It’s a cross-sectional study — it shows an association but not a causal relationship.” However, “it’s important to know there’s a link between sexting and psychological distress. It’s something to be considered if you know of a youth who is involved in sexting.”

    The study also includes some interesting advice from the Cyberbullying Research Center regarding what kids should do regarding sext messages:

    “You should delete it and not tell anybody. If it’s doesn’t get disseminated and distributed, it’s ended.”

    That message has gotten them some heat, but they stick to it –

    “If you tell adults, you’re throwing that person under a bus. Adults, it seems, are forced to respond to sexting in extreme ways — ways that have long-term, irreversible consequences. Until we can develop reasonable responses that do not potentially foreclose on the futures of all involved, we are wise to advise that students do not contact adults, unless the situation is appearing to get out of control. And I think teens know when it is out of control.”

    What do you think about sexting? Is it a real cause for concern for parents? Or is it just kids being kids in the age of the internet and smartphones? Let us know in the comments.

  • N.J. Sexting Bill Would Send Teens to Sexting School

    We all know that technology has made it so much easier these days for kids. I’m not even that old and I remember when I had to leave a message with my friend’s mom and wait for them to call me back. Landlines, I know, right?

    And social media allows teens instant contact with hundreds of their friends. Remember when you had to call everyone you knew to invite them to a party? Or, god forbid, send a letter? Now you just click “create event” on Facebook and your work it pretty much done. Don’t even get me started on Wikipedia. Also, get off my lawn.

    Since every teen has their own cellphone and every new phone has camera (or two) built in, it was just a matter of time before they all made a habit out of taking pictures of their privates and sending them to people.

    And sorry, parents. Sexting isn’t going to stop. With the freedom of technology, it’s just what adolescents have come up with to deal with their changing emotions. So as long as puberty still continues to have an effect on the sex drive and kids continue to own phones, sexting is here to stay. It’s how we deal with it that matters.

    Or at least that’s what the state of New Jersey thinks. The N.J. Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee has unanimously approved a bill (A-1561) that would decriminalize sexting, and instead replace it will “intense education.” It still needs to be approved by the entire Senate, however.

    Sexting is criminalized, you might ask?

    Over the last couple of years there have been charges filed against teens all over the country for sexting. In 2010 a 13-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy from Indiana were both charged with possession of child pornography and child exploitation from sending nude photos to each other, of themselves.

    In Harrisburg, PA, eight students at a local high school ranging in age from 13 to 17 were accused of child pornography for sexting. Pennsylvania then became one of many states that began to work on reforming the laws to fit this new phenomenon.

    While some other states seek to simply make these charges less severe, as in a misdemeanor instead of a felony, many argue that the criminalization of the activity at all is ludicrous.

    “Teens need to understand the ramifications of their actions, but they shouldn’t necessarily be treated as criminals,” Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, a co-sponsor of the bill, said. “We need to create a path that places education and forgiveness before arrest and prosecution. Young people – especially teen girls – need to understand that sending inappropriate pictures is not only potentially illegal, but can leave an indelible mark on them socially and educationally.”

    The education program would involve learning about the possible legal consequences of sending nude photographs to one another. it would also explore the “effect on relationships, its impact on school life” and how the sexting could impact their ability to get a job later in life. (huh?)

    I don’t know guys. Should teenagers that willingly show nude pictures of themselves be the concern of the law? It this not a parental type of issue? I’m not a parent myself, but I feel like sexting is just the expression of what kids are going to do anyways – just expressed in the tech world.

    It seems like people either have to limit teenagers’ use of technology or start to seriously adjust their standards for things that upset them. If recent history is any indication, it seems America is unnaturally outraged by anyone who sexts – so it might be tough to adopt an “it’s going to happen” stance.

    What do you think? Let us know in the comments.