“Send nudes.”
The meme that trolled social media may have disappeared, but the dangers of sexting has always been apparent.
Sexting is, by definition, “an act of sending sexually explicit materials through mobile phones.” This includes pictures, videos and texts.
In a 2016 study conducted by Cyberbullying Research Center, over 5,500 teenagers between the ages of 12-17 were surveyed. Four percent of the participants have sent sexually explicit photos, while 13 percent have received sexually explicit photos.
In 2016, MTV created A Thin Line. This campaign educates the public of online abuse and how it can be stopped. The website provides information of the dangers of sexting, ways to take control of a situation, action to take to stop digital abuse and how to become a part of the solution.
According to A Thin Line, 61 percent of people who have sent sexually explicit messages were pressured to do so.
Popular media outlets including Cosmopolitan magazine and Refinery 29 have published articles encouraging sexting. These articles give tips and tricks about how to make a message more creative while bypassing the awkward beginning stage of sexting. In their Sex and Relationship column, COSMO often posts about what guys really want in sexting but rarely reports on the dangers of sexting.
In the state of Pennsylvania, there are no laws about sending sexually explicit pictures between adults. Adversely, transmitting a sexually explicit photo of a minor will result in a first-degree misdemeanor. In a study conducted by Indiana University among a national sample of 5,805 single adults between the ages of 21 and 75, 23 percent of participants shared sexts that were sent to them with others.
When sending a sexually explicit message, there is always the possibility of it getting shared with others. Revenge porn is the distribution of sexually explicit photos of someone without their consent.
There are 38 states that have laws regarding revenge porn. In Pennsylvania, the law is expressed as Unlawful Dissemination of an Intimate Image. This is considered a second-degree misdemeanor, but a first-degree misdemeanor if the person depicted is a minor.
Margaret Rakus, professor in the communication department, touches on the topic revenge porn in her Community Engagement and Social Media class.
“We talk about revenge porn in the section of moral and social panic,” Rakus said. “I think it’s important for college students to recognize, as early as possible, that the images that are taken of them are not owned by them; the copyright goes to the creator of the image.”
In July 2017, Rob Kardashian took to Instagram to expose Blac Chyna or cheating on him with eight other men. Kardashian posted 17 consecutive Instagram post, before Instagram shut down his account. Those posts included photos and videos of Chyna with other men and a picture of her exposed vagina.
The photos were removed from Instagram, but quickly spread throughout social media. In the state of California, where Kardashian and Chyna reside, posting revenge porn is considered a misdemeanor, with a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail, according to Daily Mail.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize the risks that they are at when they take part in sexting,” Kim Pepenella, senior political science and business double major, said. “I think the effects should be talked about more.”
Pepenella believes the dangers of sexting should be talked about more on a college campus.
“I think the problem with sexting is when it happens nonconsensual,” Maggie Javitt, senior criminology major, said. “Getting a picture that is unsolicited, or even if you send someone a picture and they wanted it, then they spread it among their friends, that is where the problem lies.”
