Sexting has gone mainstream, and most tweens and teens know what it is and many are using their cell phones and computers to send and receive inappropriate photos. If your child has a cell phone, or smart phone you need to learn more about this now. While kid’s may be Internet savvy, they don’t understand the consequences if they are engaged in sending, receiving or in possession of photos considered child pornography. Parents need to be aware of the consequences, talk to their children about this national phenomenon in order to keep their teens safe and educated about the risks of sexting.

What is Sexting?

Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages, videos  or photos electronically, using cell phones or email. It is a felony and if convicted can be punishable to 7 to 10 years in prison and requires registration as a sex offender.

Consequences

Take the case of Philip Alpert who had nude photos of his 16-year-old girlfriend (a minor is a person under the age of 18). One night, because of the demise of their relationship he decided to send the photos to friends and relatives. He was subsequently arrested and charged with transmitting child pornography and convicted as a sex offender. He is now a registered sex offender until he is 43 years old.

Text, Chat and IM Word Codes kids use to Communicate

Teens have specific text, chat, IM code words (acronyms) they use for sexting. Parents need to know the definitions of these code words and know what their children are saying when using these codes.

Protect your Teen

Parents need to talk to their children about the dangers of sexting and monitor what their children are texting with cell phone monitoring software. This can be done with Mobile Spyware, software that has features to monitor all text messages sent and received, call made, location of your child and much more.

The vast majority of teens whose parents know they go online through their cell phone say that they are not given any limits or controls – far fewer than are given limits on their desktop or laptop.

See our comprehensive Sexting Text Acronyms (GuardChild members only) dictionary (or the Top 10 Preview for non-members) and our Teenage Sexting Statistics.

Products to monitor what your child texts.