Sexting is a modern trend in communication that raises a number of legal and ethical issues. The word itself is a portmanteau of "sex" and "texting," the latter referring to the sending of messages either via a smartphone or online through texting software. The sex element involves a wide variety of activities, but of most concern is the "digital exchange of sexually explicit images between teenagers using text messaging services on camera-equipped cell phones (Eraker, 2000) or on their laptop computers using messaging services and the built-in cameras. Sexting among consenting adults is not considered an issue of importance, but when minors are involved it is a significant issue covering a number of different subjects, including law, education and social work. This paper will begin with a preliminary study of the literature on sexting, and then propose directed research on the subject.
Mitchell, Finkelhor, Jones & olak (2011) found in their…...
mlaWorks Cited:
Brown, J.; Keller, S. & Stern, S. (2009). Sex, sexuality, sexting and sex ed: Adolescents and the media. Prevention Researcher. Vol. 16 (4) 12-16.
Celizic, M. (2009). Her teen committed suicide over sexting. Today.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012 from http://studentservices.dadeschools.net/sexting/pdfs/Her_Teen_Committed_Suicide_Over_Sexting.pdf
Eraker, E. (2010). Stemming sexting: Sensible legal approaches to teenagers' exchange of self-produced pornography. Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Vol. 25 (2010) 555-596.
Mitchell, K.; Finkelhor, D.; Jones, L. & Wolak, J. (2011). Prevalence and characteristics of youth sexting: A national study. Pediatrics. Vol. 129 (1) 13-20.
However, there were critical flaws in the way the study was reported. This occurred with Walker not providing the actual data from the responses vs. what the subject said. Moreover, there was no information provided concerning: the size, the demographics and time line of the study. This makes it difficult for others to take the results from these findings and mirror them in future research projects. (Walker, 2011, pp. 8 -- 16)
Does the study generalize to other people that were not the subject of the research (e.g., college student study generalizing to everyone, study in the U.S. applying to other cultures)?
The study is generalizing to a certain extent. The way that this is occurring is through providing several different quotations from respondents. Then, taking these views and applying them to the entire population sample. This makes it appear as if all young people are actively involved in sexting. Yet,…...
mlaReferences
Walker, S. (2011). Sexting and Young People. Youth Studies Australia, 30 (4), 8-16
Discriminating Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Articles
Scholarly articles represent written documents that add something of significance to an academic research field. The typical trademarks of a scholarly article are authorship by experts in an area of academic research and the inclusion of novel empirical evidence or analysis, but probably the most reliable criteria is publication in an academic journal utilizing a peer-review process to vet articles prior to publication.
Non-scholarly Articles
The article "Sexting in the Schoolyard" by Segool and Crespi (2011) represents an example of a non-scholarly article. The authors represent experts in their respective fields and one of them has been a coauthor on at least two research articles (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2012). Although survey (empirical) data is presented in the article, including survey data that has gone through a peer-reviewed process prior to publication, the authors did not generate the data themselves. The journal in which the article is…...
mlaReferences
Barkacs, Linda L. And Barkas, Craig B. (2010). Do you think I'm sexty? Minors and sexting: Teenage fad or child pornography? Journal of Legal, Ethical, and Regulatory Issues, 13, 23-31.
Communique Online. (n.d.). CQ submission guidelines for authors. NASPonline.org. Retrieved 29 Feb. 2012 from http://www.nasponline.org/publications/cq/cqguidelines.aspx
Corbett, Don. (2009, December). Let's talk about sext: The challenge of finding the right legal response to the teenage practice of sexting. Journal of Internet Law, 13, 3-8.
ProQuest LLC. (2012). Search string: "Siegle Del." Search.ProQuest.com. Retrieved 29 Feb. 2012.
Teenage Sexting and Its Consequences
Problem Description
In the last one decade, the advancement in technology has changed the mode of communication and interaction among teenagers; the increased reliance of teenagers on technology has been profusely documented. About 78% of teenagers own mobile phones and about one-third of them send out more than 3, 000 messages via their mobile phones per month. In several cases, sexting has been used as a form of communication. There are several vague definitions about sexting, but generally, it is seen as a social phenomenon that refers mainly to the habit of sending or receiving messages or images that are sexually suggestive to peers through cell phones. There are sparse researches with regards to the precursors and context to sexting in the existing literature (Martinez-Prather & Vandiver, 2014).
New electronic communication platforms (e.g., Facebook, texting, Twitter, etc.) have raised some serious concerns among today's parents, educators, law enforcement…...
mlaReferences
Henderson, Lori (2011). Sexting and Sexual Relationships Among Teens and Young Adults, McNair Scholars Research Journal: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 9.
Martinez-Prather, K. & Vandiver, D.M. (2014). Sexting among Teenagers in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of Identifying Motivating Factors, Potential Targets, and the Role of a Capable Guardian, International Journal of Cyber Criminology, Vol 8 Issue 1.
Mitchell, J. Kimberly, Finkelhor, D., Jones, L., Wolak, J. (2012). Prevalence and characteristics of youth sexting: A national study. Pediatrics, 129(1), 13-20.
O'Keefe, G.S., Clarke-Pearson, K., & Council on Communications and Media. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127, 800- 804.
Semi Structured Focus Group Interviews With Students
Online ethnography
Text mapping with students
Individual Interviews with students
Triangulation
Individual interviews with teachers
Ethics
Informed consent
Disclosure
esearch Methods and Statistics: Impact of Teenage Sexting on Children and Its Consequences
There have been research designs developed to study various young people's experiences on 'sexting'. Data, collection tools have also been selected for this purpose. A survey design has been adopted and a data collection tool chosen.
Justification of the study design
First, sampling is deeply regarded in conducting surveys, as it is essential in almost all behavioral research. The research also involves questionnaires whose responses being computer-entered, written or oral comprise the primary data. It is possible to epigrammatically summarize the views of all respondents by using the same phrasing and order of questions. The attitudes and other characteristics of a specific population can be deduced from the responses given to similar questions offered to a representative fraction drawn from that population. Moreover,…...
mlaReferences
Allen, L. (2004) Beyond the birds and the bees: constituting a discourse of erotics in sexuality education, Gender and Education, 16 (2), pp.151-167.
Martinez-Prather, K. & Vandiver, D.M. (2014). Sexting among Teenagers in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of Identifying Motivating Factors, Potential Targets, and the Role of a Capable Guardian, International Journal of Cyber Criminology, Vol 8 Issue 1.
McClelland, S.I. and Fine, M. (2008). 'Writing on cellophane: Studying teen women's sexual desires; Inventing methodological release points.' K. Gallagher (Ed.). The Methodological Dilemma: Critical and Creative Approaches to Qualitative Research. London: Routledge.
Ringrose, J. (2011) 'Are you sexy, flirty or a slut? Exploring "sexualisation" and how teen girls perform / negotiate digital sexual identity on social networking sites'. In R. Gill and C. Scharff (eds.) New Femininities: Postfeminism, Neoliberalism and Identity, London: Palgrave.
Men ho have Extramarital Affairs?
Is it mostly men who go out beyond the bonds of marriage and have affairs? Or are women also known to have extramarital affairs? hat does social science research tell us about this issue? The literature accessed in this paper found that while in some research more men than women engaged in extramarital sex, women are certainly not innocent in this matter as other research reveals. The answer to the question then is, no, it is not "mostly men" who engage in sex outside of marriage. The available data -- including peer-reviewed, scholarly articles -- suggests strongly that women do indeed have sex outside of marriage, and when it comes to searching for sex on the Internet, women engage in that activity as much as or more than men do. So, the myth that it is "mostly men" is debunked in this paper.
The Social Science…...
mlaWorks Cited
Buller, D.J. (2005). Adapting Minds: Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature. Boston, MA: MIT Press.
Jeanfreau, M.M., Jurich, A.P., and Mong, M.D. (2014). An Examination of Potential Attractions
Of Women's Marital Infidelity. The American Journal of Family Therapy, Vol. 42, 14-28.
Wysocki, D.K., and Childers, C.D. (2011). "Let My Fingers Do the Talking": Sexting and Infidelity in Cyberspace. Sexuality & Culture, Vol. 15, 217-239.
shame in teenage sextual relations," Nina Funnell outlines a conceptual criticism of the approach taken by the Commonwealth on matters relating to the laws governing various sex crimes. According to Funnel (2011), there are fundamental problems with the enforcement of certain sex crime laws against minors because they were obviously drafted and enacted mainly to protect minors and not to punish their sexual behaviour. In that regard, Funnell (2011) focuses especially on the issue of the prosecution of teenagers who transmit sexualised photographs of themselves to others as violators of child pornography laws even though those crimes are, essentially, victimless crimes. The author points out that in addition to the nonsensical application of those laws to the class of persons they were originally intended to protect rather than punish, the Commonwealth has exhibited a simultaneous lackadaisical approach to prosecuting sex crimes involving bona fide victims and adult perpetrators, such…...
mlaReferences
Funnel, N. (2011) There's No Shame in Teenage Sextual Relations, Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September.
Gerrig, R. And P. Zimbardo. (2008). Psychology and Life. Princeton, NJ: Pearson.
Hinds, L. And K. Daly (2001) The War on Sex Offenders: Community Notification in Perspective, ANZ Journal of Criminology, 34(3), 256-276. DOI: 10.1177/000486580103400304
McLoughlin, C. And J. Burgess (2010) Texting, Sexting and Social Networking Among Australian Youth and the Need for Cyber Safety Education, paper available through Australian Catholic University at http://www.aare.edu.au
social networking has in the last couple of years stirred a lot of debate among politician and scholars alike. The level of risks and benefits associated with social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace especially to children and teenagers has elicited a mixed reaction among the debating parties. In this paper we present a systematic analysis of the implications of social networking sites for both children and teenagers with a sharp focus on Facebook. We also focus on the benefits as well as the issue surrounding the use of social networking sites by use of relevant illustrations. Overall, we evaluate how the use of computer technology has impacted the society in general and education in particular.
Definition of Social Networking
Several scholars have attempted to define the concept of social networking and its components. Boyd & Ellison (2007) define social networking sites as special web-based services that are developed…...
mlaReferences
Berkshire District Attorney. Sexting. Pittsfield, MA: Commonwealth of Massachusetts; 2010.
Availableonline at: www.mass.gov/?pageID_ berterminal&L_3&L0_Home&L1_Crime_Awareness_%26_Prevention&L2_Parents_
%26_Youth&sid_Dber&b_terminalcontent&f_parents_youth_sexting&csid_Dber. Accessed onApril 5, 2011
Tynes, BM (2007),Internet Safety Gone Wild? Sacrificing the Educational and Psychosocial
The Happiness EffectFreitas, D. (2017).The happiness effect: How social media is driving a generation toappear perfect at any cost. Oxford University Press.IntroductionThe Happiness Effect by Freitas (2017) is a story about young people and their use of social mediaand its impact on their livestold largely in their own words. It is a probing and sensitive examination of a techno-cultural phenomenon, one that has never been seen before in all of human history, and Freitas takes care to allow those taking part in this phenomenon to provide their own perspective on it. This paper summarizes and critiques the book and provides an examination of the consistency, validity, and adequacy of the arguments of its author. While the book does offer some important insight, it does come up short in terms of addressing point-blank the ultimate issue, which is that social media is more of a burden and a problem than a…...
mlaThat assumption is not validated in the book. Indeed, the author appears to second-guess it in the conclusion when she issues her challenge to young people to get off the smart phone for a few days. It seems that the author senses the harm that social media does to young people even if she does not want to come right out and say so in explicit terms. But why not? The book feels inadequate because it lacks this explicit no-nonsense type of delivery. Young people are not so fragile and sensitive that they will break if they are confronted with some serious truth. Part of the problem of this techno-culture of the modern world is that truth is so rarely uttered: young people allow themselves to go with the flow of the modern world because they do not see anyone going against the current with any real passion. Truth always tends to go against whatever current of the times is flowing. Truth is like the rock that cuts the current; it is like the fish swimming upstream. The author takes the reader on a journey downstream and then gets to the plunging waterfall that is sending young people over the edge onto the rocks below and asks whether it wouldn’t be better if perhaps we all put our smart phones down for a while—but by then isn’t it already a little too late? The reader has gone through 200+ pages and was probably already thinking that after the first page. The fact is that it does not take a rocket scientist to see the harmful effects of social media on the young generation. What is needed is a strong voice to command the young to get moving in the opposite direction. There is no reason whatsoever anyone should feel the need to use social media. Life existed before it, and life can exist just fine without it. One wishes the author would state as much plainly and simply.Conclusion The Happiness Effect by Freitas (2017) does a good job of putting the reader in the shoes of young people caught up in the social media phenomenon of today’s techno-culture. It shows what they are thinking, feeling, experiencing, and how they are impacted by it all—but it does not do enough in the way of making a loud, compelling argument for getting off social media altogether. Instead, the author gives the reader a weak challenge to unplug for a little bit and see what happens.
The governments of China clearly believe that if they do not ban shows where the premise is based on the voting then it could lead their citizens to want the right to vote in the government on their own opinions. The influence that television has, in this case by indirectly helping Chinese citizens move in the direction of being slightly more "democratic," is seen as a threat- it is hard to believe that television could threaten the national security of a world super power.
The current influence that television has on individual's lives is only growing stronger as technology continues to develop. Recent developments have shown that television will now be in "three-dimensions," so that individuals who view TV can be full immersed in the movie or show they are watching ("ho Needs It"). But is that even necessary when nine out of ten homes have televisions in their homes…...
mlaWorks Cited
Adams, Paul C. "Television as a Gathering Place." Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 82.1 (1992): n. page. Print.
"An Interactive Feature." Economist. 29 April 2010: n. page. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. .
Blockbuster Bankruptcy, . "Blockbuster Bankruptcy 2010." Blockbuster, 2011. Web. 18 Oct 2011. .
Chen, Jason. "Google TV Review: It's Kinda the Future." Gizmodo, 26 Oct 2010. Web. 18 Oct 2011. http://gizmodo.com/5672946/google-tv-review-its-kinda-the-future .
The common point-of-view is more focused on the negative impact of social networking than on its advantages. O'Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (800)
argue that this is as a result of social networking influencing teenagers and adolescents more negatively and the positive effects that it brings. They state that "daily overuse of social media has negative impact on health, and physical growth of teens and preteens." Recent research also shows that teenagers are fond of expressing negative offline behaviors in the online social networks. These include the formation of cliques, sexual experimentation, peer pressure and bullying. In addition to this, there are other new behaviors that are introduced as a result of their use of social networks such as privacy issues, internet addiction, and "sexting." These teenagers feel comfortable in these social networks and thus are easily drawn to these behaviors and have difficulty in withdrawing when they are needed to. However, there…...
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