Social media makes information
more accessible to Internet users. Almost all information went online nowadays
and Internet users gain access to them instantly. This indeed brings great
convenience to the human race. However, social media also makes illegal
material circulates quicker and further. Messages are brought to inappropriate
audience without proper censorship. To make things worse, teenagers are not
passively exposed to pornography online today, they are actively exchanging
inappropriate photos of themselves, a phenomenon know as sexting (Siewert,
2015). Parents face great challenge to monitor what their teenage children send
and receive through social media.
According to Siewert, teenagers
make use of instant communication function of social media to send nude photos
of themselves to their girlfriend or boyfriend in the United State of America
(USA). They innocently believe that their photos would stay private, but their
photos actually circulate among their peers or even spread to online pornography
websites. Many youngsters do not know that sending or owning sexually explicit
photos of anyone under the age of seventeen is considered as child pornography,
which is criminal. Jaffe (2015) also mentions in his article that some
teenagers post photos of themselves on social media, such as Instagram, to
attract attention. Predators then make use of direct message to ask for more
sexually explicit photos from them. These teenagers are at high risk of sexual
harassment.
Juvenile may face five years
mandatory sentences upon receipt, distribution and production of child
pornography in the USA (Child Pornography Sentences, n.d.). Most teenagers do
not know the consequences of child pornography and many think that it is no big
deal since most peers are doing it. However, criminalizing all the innocent
teenagers does not solve the problem. Siewert mentions in her article that some
states take alternative approaches to penalize teenagers who engaged in child
pornography. For example, in Texas minors who caught for sexting for the first
time would be sentenced to community supervision upon completion of sexting
education course. Elsewhere, minors are sentenced to serve community-service
projects to raise awareness of sexting. Indeed, they should be given a second chance
to understand the aftereffect of sexting and child pornography.
The measures that have been done
so far are mostly punitive. This will only prevent teenagers from repeating the
same act, but not preventing their peers from committing the same crime. This
is because teenagers tend to take the risk, thinking that they will not be
caught for sexting. Preventive measures that focus on school education program
should be adopted to complement punitive measures. The purpose of education
program is to change the cognition of teenagers who think that sexting is not a
big deal. These education programs should serve to educate teenagers about
various consequences of sexting. Also, authorities like social media sites and
parents should practice censorship to the minors. By doing so, the number of
first time offenders would be greatly reduced.
Law enforcement in the United
States should work closely with high schools in the US to come up with
educational programs that serve to alert students about various consequences of
sexting and child pornography. Teenagers may take the risk of sending photos of
themselves to their girlfriends or boyfriends thinking that they will not be
caught for it. However, they have to understand that legal issues are not the
only problems they may face for sexting. The educational program should inform
them the risk of their photos being spread to others or even online websites.
This may leads to blackmails or sexual assault. These minors are exposing
themselves to unknown risks. Some real life examples of blackmails or sexual
harassment can be presented during the education program to deter
teenagers from sexting.
In addition, online social media
like Facebook and Instagram should practice censorship more strictly to those
who are under the age of eighteen. Once inappropriate photos of minors are
detected, social media should have the right to inform guardians of the minors.
Social media should also alert teenagers when they have friend or follower
request from an ambiguous individual. This is to protect them form predators of
child pornography online. The guardians should conduct impromptu check of their
minors’ phones and computers to make sure that they do not own sexually
explicit photos of themselves and their peers. Parents can also place the
chargers in their rooms such that teenagers will not have access to phones and electronic
devices during bedtime (How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them
from other teens who do, n. d.). Some may argue that the privacy of minors is
being compromised and their human rights are infringed. However, when teenagers
cannot make right decisions for themselves, their legal representatives should
have the right to protect them from jeopardy.
In conclusion, US courts should
continue to penalize teenagers who misuse social media as a medium for sexting
and child pornography. At the same time, law enforcement and schools complement
punitive measures by providing preventive education programs. Authorities
practice necessary censorship to the minors to protect them from illegal acts.
These all sum together to allow social media to provide a conducive space for
sharing.
(831 words)
Child Pornography Sentences. (n.d.). Families Against Mandatory Minimums. Retrieved from http://famm.org/affected-families/child-pornography-sentences/
How to prevent teenagers from sexting and protect them from other teens who do. (n.d.). Reputation.com. Retrieved from http://www.reputation.com/reputationwatch/articles/how-prevent-teenagers-sexting-and-protect-them-other-teens-who-do
Jaffe, A. (27 February 2015). The disturbing ways some teens are using Instagram. Identities Mic. Retrieved from http://mic.com/articles/111304/the-disturbing-way-teens-are-really-using-instagram
Stewart, S. (22 February 2015). Sapping nude images spells danger for teems. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/21/swapping-nude-images-spells-trouble-teens/23824495/
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