ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) – Social media apps like Snapchat, Instagram, even Facebook, are front-and-center in dating relationships among teenagers.
But what happens when it goes too far?
“Sometimes it’s very difficult for young people to put boundaries up around what’s OK and what’s not OK,” therapist Kelly Finch said of sexting, the practice of sharing sexually explicit photos and other material via text or social media.
School officials, parents and police have been warning against sexting for years. Some teens have refrained, but the more that social media becomes their primary way of communicating, the more prevalent sexting has become.
“When you have this kind of pressure in middle school, when you’re between 11 and 14 year of age—that’s when it starts—and then it happens all through high school, that’s a lot of pressure to grow up way too fast,” Finch said.
Sexting among teenagers is nothing to take lightly. Finch added that left unchecked, it can lead to depression, anxiety and low self-worth.
“Children do not have the age of consent,” she said. “So, they’re not really mature enough to have sexual relationships with people. And that immaturity in and of itself will lead to confusion in their whole identity development.”
And that goes especially for those who are being pressured to send sexually charged photos and messages, Finch said. Boys are more likely than girls to ask for nude photos. And the more they get them, the more unhealthy their behavior becomes.
“We need to teach kids on both ends to not be soliciting those types of images, those things from girls,” she said. “And girls should be kind of aware of the dangers of what happens if they decide to do that.”
A key fact Finch says everyone should also understand is that when someone sends an explicit image on social media, it never really goes away, even though it may get deleted.
Electronic images can always be retrieved. And, they can be shared countless times in a split second.
There are also criminal implications at play when teens sext. True in most states, anyone caught with a nude image of a minor could be charged with child pornography.
“There are long-term implications that our victims experience, so we take these cases very personally, and then work to make sure they are accountable for their actions,” said Sgt. Kailey Gilbert with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Experts say about one in four teens in America has either sent or received an explicit text or social media message from one of their peers.
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