Sexting? Did You Think Consequences When You Were 14 Years Old?

I can give you a definitive, "no".  Of course, when I was 14 years old there was no such thing as "sexting."  My big thing was getting my own telephone in my room, and that was bad enough.  And for you old farts, here is the definition of  "sexting".  Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, primarily between mobile phones.

Fast forward to the front page of the New York Times. One day Margarite posed naked in front of a mirror, held up her cellphone and took a picture.  She sent the full-length frontal photo to Isaiah, her new boyfriend.  Both were in eighth grade.  They broke up.  Isaiah forwarded the photo to another eighth-grade girl, once a friend of Margarite’s.   That girl attaches a text message to it.  It read, “Ho Alert!  If you think this girl is a whore, then text this to all your friends.”  She did.  They did.  Press "send."

So what do you think?  I think most 14 years olds don't think much further than now.  If they're more mature, maybe a minute from now.  I think Sharon Osborne, on The Talk, had it right.  You give your kid a phone and you have to have the talk.  Don't send pictures, especially naked ones, even to your girlfriends.  Never to a boyfriend.  Don't leave snarky voice mails that will come back and haunt you.  Don't send texts or emails when you're angry or hurt.  Everything lasts FOREVER.

We are living in a technologically advanced society that even adults have a difficult time navigating.  I'm not sure sure the answer is slapping handcuffs on them and charging them with something that will stay on their record forever.

Kids are going to be kids but they are playing with lots of adult toys.  I wonder if they should be??? All I know is at 14 years old, they're just not fully cooked yet.  That needs to be taken into account before it's just too late.  There is now some stuff you just can't ever take back.