CRITICAL REFLECTION

Module ES1102 is basically a writing module, where the students' writing skills in English are improved. To make writing practises a little more interesting, the students were to open a blog and post all their writing assignments there. It was also strongly encouraged to leave comments on at least  3 other students' blog posts. With the peer review and the tutor's comments, the students were to rewrite a revised assignment. This practice of feedback giving enhances the entire learning process. Apart from just developing the students writing skills and to give them a break from  continuous  writing  practices, there were  informal presentations to improve communication skills and one final presentation to introduce good formal presentation methods.

My  favourite  part of the module was to proof read another student's assignment and give comments. Students might have helped their  friends  proof read their assignments before. However, in this module the students were to follow strict criteria and give detailed comments. I also loved receiving comments, though I was not able to understand why my classmates and my tutor often commented on the flow of my content initially. Soon after my reader response was marked and returned, I realised  my major issue in writing were coherency and the tendency to make statements without support. Upon receiving my final daft marked, I am glad to see my drastic improvement in my coherency and content.I have not only improved on my coherency but have also developed my overall writing skills. 

Apart from just developing my writing skills I have also learnt how to accept criticism. Accepting criticism is hard, especially when the very work was considered the best by the student meets negative  responses from fellow classmates and tutor. At several instances, I had been stubborn to even correct the work that was heavily  criticised. Yet, only when I started accepting  the unexpected and disappointing remarks, I was able to do well in my final draft of problem-solution essay.

The impacts of this module have already started reflecting on my other modules' writing assignments. I started to treat my work as though of someone else and corrected it strictly. Hence the skills acquired in this module is  transferable  and will not  diminish over time as there going to be many writing  assignments  in the nest 3 years in the university. I am certain  that I will continue the practice of giving and receiving feedback on assignments as it has become an habit now.

The  coordinator(s) of this module have to be credited for making this module a successful one. However, it was also my tutor, Mr Brad Blackstone, for his constant encouragement and  his strong will to make his students experience positive changes in English after completing  this module.

Reader Response Draft#4

In the article “Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom -China, Russia or the U.S?”, Morozov (2015) asserts that though Russia and China restrict internet freedom to maintain their technological sovereignty locally, it is the U.S that exploits internet freedom to assert its digital sovereignty globally. It is reported in the article that the U.S has great interest in the information that is serviced by its companies but stored elsewhere. The author concludes that countries like Russia and China are imposing stricter internet censorship and control over their citizens’ data not just to control domestic tensions, but in response to the growing technological supremacy of the U.S.

The U.S tries to establish its technological supremacy by many ways – like making efficient services like Google and Microsoft available across the globe, which are then could not be easily replaced by domestic services (Morozov, 2015). However, the fact that the U.S tries to enhance its position in the cyber world by conducting mass surveillance is intriguing. Hence, it becomes necessary for nations like Russia to restrict their citizens’ usage of foreign internet and communication services so as to avoid the unauthorised surveillance of their citizens’ data by other nations, particularly the U.S.

Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of the whole or substantial fraction of a populace. It is often conducted or controlled by the government and is done concerning the security of its nation. To avoid the misuse of the data retrieved, every nation has its own set of rules controlling such surveillance activities. However, according to Harding, the way the U.S   retrieves users’ data globally is against the laws of other nations. Harding also points out that there are veiled and poorly examined laws in the U.S that justify such mass surveillance.

Surveillance are carried undercover; no one knows how and which data are retrieved. Recently, the Kaspersky lab has found out that the U.S has been embedding implants even in computers which are not connected to the internet (Perlroth & Sanger, 2015).These implants obtains encryption codes in a computer or could even crash “sophisticated” computers. This increases the vulnerability of not just users’ data but any nations’ official and private information which are now being stored on computers.

There is a possibility that for the U.S to even alter the data without anyone’s acknowledgement in the future, if the U.S easily gains access to the data, serviced by its company elsewhere. In the same way that a nation can determine the type information its citizens have access to on the internet, the U.S has the capability to exert such control over other nations without their acknowledgement.

In Russia, apart from the urge to use domestic internet and communication services, the surveillance activities by the U.S are closely watched and studied. Investing in the study of U.S surveillance activities helps countries to take required precautions to avoid further impinging of their data in the future and develop more sophisticated anti-spy ware technologies (Perlroth & Sanger, 2015). These steps cannot completely liberate a nation from the surveillance of the U.S but could reduce the extent of being tapped.

In conclusion, U.S companies are well established across the globe and that their services cannot be easily replaced by domestic companies in other countries (Morozov, 2015). Hence, the only immediate way to reduce mass surveillance is by restricting the usage of foreign internet and communication services in one’s nation. Meanwhile, other nations should invest in the development of their technological and communication sector to slowly move the American companies from their territory.

(590 words)

REFERENCE:

 1)     Morozov, E. (2015, January 4). Who’s the true enemy of the internet freedom – China, Russia, or the U.S? The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty

 2)     Perlroth, N., & Sanger, D. E. (2015, February 16). U.S. embedded spyware overseas, report claims. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/technology/spyware-embedded-by-us-in-foreign-networks-security-firm-says.html

3) Harding, P. (2015, January 26). Mass surveillance is fundamental threat to human rights, says European report. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/26/mass-surveillance-threat-human-rights-council-europe

Self-evaluation on Presentation

Two presentations  in a single week would normally ruffle the feather's of any students', especially when the semester exams are nearing. However, to my surprise, i did not feel that way. I was excited. I wanted to improve the on the mistakes i did in the first presentation of the week. One of the main critic was that my voice was soft at times and i have to project it.  Another comment was to improve on my hand gesture as i was noticed fidgeting with my pen out of nervousness during the first presentation. Keeping these critics in mind, for the ES1102 presentation, I was credited to for good hand gestures. However I was not able to project my voice again. The 1st presentation of the week was for one of my engineering module, hence it was more theoretical. I wanted to make this presentation a little more interactive and i believe i have achieved it. I was very happy when my power point slides received positive comments, as i did work on it reasonably. Yet, one thing that disappointed me was my first impression i made on my audience. I wanted to give a good introduction, hence i memorised it beforehand. But my nerves went out of control which then sent wrong signal to the brain and which in turn made my lips utter the wrong statistical data. On the whole it was a good experience. I have have received many valuables comments which will further help me give a better  presentation  next time.

Critical reflection Outline 

1)     What happened?

-         As it is a writing course, certainly there was a lot of writing. Taking the learning to the next level, the students were to comment on at least on 2 of their classmates’ works. With the feedback given, one has to write a revised one which is again commented by the tutor and other classmates.

-          Apart from the formal 5 minute presentation on the problem-solution essay, the students were given some practise beforehand by making them do short informal presentations in small groups since the starting of the module. Hence, the final presentation is an opportunity to apply the skills they have learnt so far.

2)     Why/How did it happened? What factors contributed? How do you feel about it?

-         The module has been carefully designed. Most of the students were informed and some discouraged that they are a lot of writings to do in this module. To encourage the students, the first writing assignment was to write on the topic “My English Learning Journey”. This assignment was written from heart by many. Hence when the other students were to comment on the other students’ work, they had the opportunity to know more about one another and had a shared feelings over some common reasons for which they were to take this module.

-         The students were strongly encouraged to comment on every work of their classmates’. But what makes the feedbacks more useful is the posting of the revised drafts using the comments given by the tutor and fellow classmates.

3)     New interpretation of the experience? What is the significance? What did you earn about yourself and others?

-         Every student would have got feedbacks on their work sometime back, yet the system of commenting on others work with strict criteria as though one’s a teacher was new for many. It was fun to criticise someone else’s work. However, initially, I was not able to proofread my own works. I suppose I was either too satisfied or overconfident of my work.

-         Though l I loved to read the comments left on my essays, if any parts (content or phrases), which I had considered the best, received negative comments, I had been very stubborn to accept the mistake and change it. Now, when I reflect, over the course of time, I had changed myself and have become more open to critics.

4)     What will you do as a result of this experience? How will you use it to inform your future?

The impacts of this module are well reflected in the essays that I am writing for other modules. The skills learnt in this module are transferrable and could not be easily forgotten. This is because throughout the university life there are going to be many more essays or papers to write and the learnt skills are going to be applied often. I will still continue the habit commenting on my friends’ works and discuss with other friends whether my comments are correct.

Problem – Solution Essay Draft#3

The extensive usage of social media among early teenagers have led to many problems. However the most disturbing one is the sexting among early teenagers. Children as young as seven years old are involved in this dirty activity (Barrett, 2105).

According to the Oxford Dictionary, sexting is the sharing of explicit photographs or sexual text through mobile phones. A survey conducted by the Pediatrics journal shows that about 22% out of 410 grade seventh students in the U.S have participated in sexting (Younger, 2014). In-depth study or survey on this issue has not been conducted in Singapore. However, as an article by Koh (2014) demonstrates, sexting is slowly gaining momentum locally.

Because of the rise of sending explicit pictures and sexual texts among early teenagers of Singapore, the Ministry of Education should introduce classes in schools to educate the early teenagers about the dangers of sexting on social networking sites and apps.

There are several reasons for early teens to participate in sexting. The first and the foremost one is the heavy emphasis that teenagers have on their identity online (Rozen, 2015). With the craving to have the best profile online or to show that they are more adult-like than their friends, teenagers go to the extent of sharing explicit photos of themselves online. Another reason that prompts the teenagers to take such explicit pictures is due to hyper sexuality – the increased sexual behaviour at a young age. Teenagers with this unhealthy behaviour tend to imitate titillating models on media and consequently end up sexting.

In addition to the above stated reasons, another cause for sexting is the misconception among teenagers that their personal pictures are kept safe on their mobile phones. Any explicit pictures or text can be somehow retrieved by sexual predators. Sexual predators collect explicit pictures of people they have contacted on social media and then, blackmail the person in the picture to send more or to meet them in person. One such case occurred in Wisconsin, USA. David Weaver, 51 from Cedarburg, disguised himself as a young girl and collected explicit pictures and videos of more than 100 children across the country (Siewert, 2015). Even if a teenager does not get into any such troubles as mentioned above, they might face issues in the future. They might not even know that their sexts have been leaked out and that these can pose problems when they apply for universities or jobs in the future.

Clearly, the grievous consequences stated above create the urgency to stop the teenagers in Singapore from sexting at an early stage. Many nations have implemented various solutions to curb this trend among early teenagers. Depending upon the circumstances, a teenager sending, receiving or possessing explicit pictures or sexual texts can be prosecuted. In Singapore, sexting is dealt with under the Undesirable Publications Act (Ho, 2010). However, actions are only taken upon a complaint. Due to unclear penalties, a teenager would not file a complaint against the person who would have misused the sext that the teenager has sent. This is because the teenager, though being the victim, might fear being prosecuted for sending such unacceptable texts or pictures in the first place (Computerworld Singapore, 2012).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   As cases related to sexting are more in the west, legal measures have been carefully drafted by the legislative authorities, keeping in mind that there are children under the age of 18 involved in such cases. For example in Texas, a law has been passed that considers the initial attempt of sexting by a minor as  misdemeanor. If the child finishes his or her sexting education course, the child is sentenced to community supervision.  This law has clear penalties and has been drafted specifically for teenagers. This will not affect their lives as much as if they are sentenced to the same penalty of an adult, like imprisonment.

 Even though, sexting has become widespread and has led to critical cases in the U.S, a survey shows that not many students know it is illegal. This makes legal actions taken to reduce sexting among teenagers less than effective. Hence teenagers have to be educated about the issues of sexting and be informed that sexting can be against the law.

Almost all schools in Singapore conduct talks and class discussions on cyber bullying. These help educate youngsters generally on how to protect themselves in the cyber world. However, the Ministry of Education should focus on sexting particularly as it is now the new trend. It will be very effective if sexting and other related issues are dealt as an ungraded subject introduced as early as in primary schools. The content can be modified so that it is appropriate for different age groups. In higher secondary level, the moral and ethical conduct on social networking sites can be taught along with religious and ethnic beliefs, so that even if some teens do not think it is wrong to share sexts, they might be moved when they are reminded with the fact that sexting is wrong according to his or her religion or ethnic beliefs.

In conclusion, in a city like Singapore which is constantly under the external influences, it would not take a long time for sexting to become prevalent situation. As teens are lured to sext due to their misconceptions and wrong beliefs about sexual life, it is necessary for the Ministry of Education to formulate a course or subject in school to cultivate good values and ethics which will discourage immoral activities like sexting at a young age. However, one has to notice that sexting started among the adults initially and then taken up by the teenagers. So should not the adults be also educated on ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps and the legal ramifications for sexting?

(950 words)

REFERENCE:

  1) Barrett, D. (2015, March 10). ‘Sexting: Girls as young as seven in explicit videos online’. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/children/11460757/Sexting-Girls-as-young-as-seven-post-explicit-videos-online.html

  2) Koh, M. (2014, March 18). ‘Sexting is safe’. Asianone20 Singapore. Retrieved from http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/sexting-safe
  3) Younger, S. (2014, January 6). Nearly a quarter of seventh graders are sexting –what parents can do about it. Chicagonow. Retrieved from http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2014/01/nearly-a-quarter-of-seventh-graders-are-sexting-what-parents-can-do-about-it/
  4)     Rozen, C. (2015, January 28). How social media is making teens unhappy. Sun sentinel. Retrieved from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/teenlink/fl-tl-how-social-media-is-making-teens-unhappy-20150128-story.html
  5)     Siewert, S. (2015, February 20). Swapping nude images spells trouble for teens. Postcrescent.com Retrieved from http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2015/02/20/teen-sexting-rise-wisconsin/23691927/
  6) Ho, V. (2010, April 12). ‘Sexting’ carries stricter laws in Asia. ZDNet.com. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/article/sexting-carries-stricter-laws-in-asia/
  7) Sexting penalties too harsh: study. (2013, April 12). Computerworld Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com.sg/resource/legal/sexting-penalties-too-harsh-study/

Problem – Solution Essay Draft#2

Teenagers now have moved from “text me later” messages to “sext me later”. According to the Oxford Dictionary sexting is the sharing of explicit photographs or sexual text through mobile phones. As young as 10 year olds send sexts to their friends. A survey shows that about 22% out of 410 grade seventh students in the U.S have participated in sexting (Younger, 2014). Though it might be not that prevalent and serious in Singapore, sexting is slowly gaining momentum among young teenagers. In-depth study or survey on this issue has not been conducted in Singapore. However, as article by Koh (2014) demonstrates, sexting is slowly gaining momentum in Singapore.

Because of the rise of sending explicit pictures and sexual texts among young teenagers of Singapore, the Ministry of Education should introduce interesting classes in schools to educate the young teenagers about the dangers of sexting on social networking sites and apps.

There are several reasons for teens to participate in sexting. The first and the foremost one is that the pressure among the young teens to gain popularity among their real friends as well as their virtual ones on social networking sites (Rozen, 2015). And social media has proven to be a powerful tool for the teenagers, who have gone to the extent of sharing their nude selfies with their friends, to increase their popularity. Another reason that prompts the teenagers to take such explicit pictures is due to hyper sexuality – the increased sexual behaviour at a young age.

  

Teenagers think that their personal pictures are kept safe on their mobile phones. However, such data are somehow retrieved by sexual predators. Sexual predators collect explicit pictures of oneself and blackmail the person in the picture to send more or to meet them in person. One such case was dealt in Wisconsin, USA. David weaver, 51 from Cedarburg, disguised himself as a young girl and collected explicit pictures and videos of more than 100 children across the country (Siewert, 2015). Even if a teenager does not get into any such troubles as mentioned above, they might face issues in the future. They might not even know that their sexts have been leaked out and that these can pose problems when they apply for universities or jobs in the future.

Clearly, the grievous consequences stated above creates the urgency to stop the teenagers in Singapore from sexting at an early stage.

Many nations have implemented various measures to curb this trend among young teenagers. Depending upon the circumstances, a teenager sending, receiving or possessing explicit pictures or sexual texts can be prosecuted. In Singapore, sexting is dealt under Undesirable Publications Act (Ho, 2010). However, actions are only taken upon a complaint. Due to unclear penalties, a teenager would not file a complaint against the person who would have misused the sext that the teenager has sent. This is because the teenager, though being a victim, might fear of being prosecuted for sending such unacceptable texts or pictures in the first place (Computerworld Singapore, 2012).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

As cases related to sexting are more in the west, legal measures are carefully drafted keeping in mind that there are children under the age of 18 involved in such cases. For example in Texas, a law has been passed that performs a misdemeanour on the initial attempt of sexting by a minor. If the child finishes his or her sexting education course, the child is sentenced to community supervision.  This law has clear penalties and has been drafted specially for the teenagers. This will not affect their lives as much as if they are sentenced to the same penalty of an adult, like imprisonment.

 Even though, sexting has become widespread and have led to critical cases in the U.S, a survey shows that not many students know it is illegal. This makes legal actions taken to reduce sexting among teenagers ineffective. Hence teenagers have to be educated about the issues of sexting and be informed that it can be held against the law.

Almost all schools in Singapore conduct talks and class discussions on cyberbullying. These help educate youngsters generally on how to protect themselves in the cyber world. However, the Ministry of Education should focus on sexting particularly as it is now the new trend. It will be very effective if sexting and other related issues are dealt as an ungraded subject introduced as early as in primary schools. The content can be modified so that it is appropriate for different age groups. In higher secondary level, the moral and ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps can be taught along with religious and ethnic beliefs. This will not alone help to reduce the trend of sexting among Singaporean teenagers but also promises to develop the future generation with lesser sex crimes and issues like teenage pregnancy. Such an optimistic statement can be strongly supported by a study referred in the article “‘Sexting’ initiates sexual behaviour among teenagers: study” (2014) that has been conducted in the United States. It shows that teenagers who are sexting are at high chances of being sexually active.

In conclusion, in a city like Singapore which is constantly under the external influences, it would not take a long time for sexting to become prevalent situation. As teens are lured to sext due to their misconceptions and wrong believes about sexual life it is necessary for the Ministry of Education to formulate a course or subject in school to cultivate good values and ethics which will discourage immoral activities like sexting at a young age. However, one has to think. Did not sexting started among the adults first and then later taken up by the teens. So should not the adults be also educated on ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps?

(952 words)

REFERENCE:

     1) Koh, M. (2014, March 18). ‘Sexting is safe’. Asianone20 Singapore. Retrieved from http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/sexting-safe

     2) Younger, S. (2014, January 6). Nearly a quarter of seventh graders are sexting –what parents can do about it. Chicagonow. Retrieved from http://sg.theasianparent.com/sexting/

     3) Rozen, C. (2015, January 28). How social media is making teens unhappy. Sun sentinel. Retrieved from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/teenlink/fl-tl-how-social-media-is-making-teens-unhappy-20150128-story.html

     4) Siewert, S. (2015, February 20). Swapping nude images spells trouble for teens. Postcrescent.com Retrieved from http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2015/02/20/teen-sexting-rise-wisconsin/23691927/

     5)  Ho, V. (2010, April 12). ‘Sexting’ carries stricter laws in Asia. ZDNet.com. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/article/sexting-carries-stricter-laws-in-asia/

     6) Sexting penalties too harsh: study. (2013, April 12). Computerworld Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com.sg/resource/legal/sexting-penalties-too-harsh-study/

     7) ‘Sexting’ initiates sexual behaviour among teenagers: study. (2014, October 6). Gulfnews.com. Retrieved from http://gulfnews.com/news/world/usa/sexting-initiates-sexual-behaviour-among-teenagers-study-1.1394863

Problem – Solution Essay Draft-1b

Teenagers now have moved from “text me later” messages to “sext me later”. According to the Oxford Dictionary sexting is the sharing of explicit photographs or sexual text through mobile phones. As young as 10 year olds send sexts to their friends. A survey shows that about 22% out of 410 grade seventh students in the U.S have participated in sexting (Younger, 2014). Though it might be not that prevalent and serious in Singapore, sexting is slowly gaining momentum among young teenagers of Singapore too.

Because of the rise of sending explicit pictures and sexual texts among young teenagers of Singapore, the Ministry of Education should introduce interesting classes in schools to educate the young about the dangers of sexting on social networking sites and apps.

There are several reasons for teens to participate in sexting. The first and the foremost one is that the pressure among the young teens to gain popularity among their real friends as well as their virtual ones on social networking sites (Rozen, 2015). And social media has proven to be a powerful tool for the teenagers, who have gone to the extent of sharing their nude selfies with their friends, to increase their popularity. Another reason that prompts the teenagers to take such explicit pictures is due to hyper sexuality – the increased sexual behaviour at a young age.  

Many might wonder why such an unethical act is gaining popularity among teenagers. A survey has revealed that often a teenager engages in sexting only after he has received such. Though sharing of explicit photographs and sexual texts are widespread, it is a pity that many do not know its long-lasting effects and it can be against the law if caught.

Teenagers think that their personal pictures are kept safe on their mobile phones. However, such data are retrieved somehow by sexual predators. Sexual predators collect explicit pictures of oneself and blackmail the person in the picture to send more or to meet them in person. One such case was dealt in Wisconsin, USA. David weaver, 51 from Cedarburg, disguised himself as a young girl and collected explicit pictures and videos of more than 100 children across the country (Siewert, 2015). Even if a teenager does not get into any such troubles as mentioned above, they might face issues in the future. They might not even know that their sexts have been leaked out and that these can pose problems when they apply for universities or jobs in the future.

Clearly, the grievous consequences stated above creates the urgency to stop the teenagers from sexting at an early stage.

Many nations have implemented various measures to curb this trend among young teenagers. Depending upon the circumstances, a teenager sending, receiving or possessing explicit pictures or sexual texts can be prosecuted. In Singapore, sexting is dealt under Undesirable Publications Act (Ho, 2010). However, actions are only taken upon a complaint. Due to unclear and penalties, a teenager would not file a complaint against the person who would have misused the sext that the teenager has sent. This is because the teenager, though being the victim, might fear of being prosecuted for sending such  unacceptable  texts or pictures in the first place (Computerworld Singapore, 2012).                                                                                                                                                                                       

As cases related to sexting are more in the west, legal measures are carefully drafted keeping in mind that there are children under the age of 18 involved in such cases. For example in Texas, a law has been passed that performs a misdemeanour on the initial attempt of sexting by a minor. If the child finishes his or her sexting education course, the child is sentenced to community supervision.  This law has clear penalties and drafted specially for the teenagers. This will not affect their lives as much as if they are sentenced to the same penalty of an adult, like imprisonment.

 As even though, sexting has become widespread and have led to critical cases in the U.S, a survey shows that not many students know it is illegal. Hence, before sexting becomes a major issue in Singapore, the students have to be educated on this sensitive issue. Almost all schools in Singapore conduct talks and class discussions on cyberbullying. These help educate youngsters generally on how to protect themselves in the cyber world. However, the Ministry of Education should focus on sexting particularly as it is now the new trend. It will be very effective if sexting and other related issues are dealt as an ungraded subject introduced as early as in primary schools. The content can be modified so that it is appropriate for different age groups. In higher and secondary level, the moral and ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps can be taught along with religious and ethnic beliefs. This will not alone help to reduce the trend of sexting among Singaporean teenagers but also promises to develop the future generation with lesser sex crimes and issues like teenage pregnancy. Such an optimistic statement can be strongly supported by a study referred in the article “‘Sexting’ initiates sexual behaviour among teenagers: study” (2014) that has been conducted in the United States. It shows that teenagers who are sexting are at high chances of being sexually active.

In conclusion, in a city like Singapore which is constantly under the external influences, it would not take a long time for sexting to become prevalent situation. As teens are lured to sext due to their misconceptions and wrong believes about sexual life it is necessary for the Ministry of Education to formulate a course or subject in school to cultivate good values and ethics which will discourage immoral activities like sexting at a young age. However, one has to think. Did not sexting started among the adults first and then later taken up by the teens. So should not the adults be also educated on ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps?

(973 words)

Reference:

1)    Younger, S. (2014, January 6). Nearly a quarter of seventh graders are sexting –what parents can do about it. Chicagonow. Retrieved from http://sg.theasianparent.com/sexting/

2)    Rozen, C. (2015, January 28). How social media is making teens unhappy. Sun sentinel. Retrieved from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/teenlink/fl-tl-how-social-media-is-making-teens-unhappy-20150128-story.html

3)    Siewert, S. (2015, February 20). Swapping nude images spells trouble for teens. Postcrescent.com Retrieved from http://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/investigations/2015/02/20/teen-sexting-rise-wisconsin/23691927/

4)    Ho, V. (2010, April 12). ‘Sexting’ carries stricter laws in Asia. ZDNet. Retrieved from http://www.zdnet.com/article/sexting-carries-stricter-laws-in-asia/

5)   Sexting penalties too harsh: study. (2013, April 12). Computerworld Singapore. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com.sg/resource/legal/sexting-penalties-too-harsh-study/

 6)‘Sexting’ initiates sexual behaviour among teenagers: study. (2014, October 6). Gulfnews.com. Retrieved from http://gulfnews.com/news/world/usa/sexting-initiates-sexual-behaviour-among-teenagers-study-1.1394863

An Influential Event

I knew that she would not pick up the phone, yet I called her. After few rings I heard the "beep" sounds. She had cut my call. I felt aggrieved. I decided to call her several times to annoy her. She let the phone cry and consequently made me cry too.

Rani and I were good friends for three long years. However during our last year at school together, things were not smooth. She started withdrawing herself from me and as well as from our other friends.

I was wiping my tears and was trying to vent my heart ache, when I heard my phone buzz. Though I knew Rani would not text or call, I prayed hard that it should be a message from her. But as feared, it was not her. It was my 10^th grade friend, Nabi. He was my really good buddy when I was studying in Middle East for just eleven months. We had amazing moments together. His jovial texts cheered me up, though the phone call incident ruffled my feathers occasionally. That day, before I went to bed, a realisation about life pulled a smile across my face. One of my dearest turned me down and just after several minutes Nabi texts me to renew our old friendship. From this incident, I have truly understood that nothing or no one is going to stay with us forever. On the other hand, when something or someone is taken away, it is always replaced. 

Problem – Solution Essay Draft-1

Teenagers now have moved from “text me later” messages to “sext me later”. According to the Oxford Dictionary sexting is the sharing of explicit photographs or sexual text through mobile phones. As young as a 10 year old kid sext his or her friends. A survey shows that about 22% out of 410 grade seven students in the U.S have participated in sexting (1). Though it might be not that prevalent and serious and Singapore, sexting is slowly gaining momentum among young teenagers of Singapore too.

There are several reasons for teens to participate in sexting. The first and the foremost one is that the pressure among the young teens to gain popularity among their real friends as well as their virtual ones on social networking sites (2). And social media has proven to be a powerful tool for the teenagers who have gone to the extent of sharing their nude selfies with their friends. Another reason that prompts the teenagers to take such explicit pictures is due to hyper sexuality – the increased sexual behaviour in teens.  

Many might wonder why such an unethical act is gaining popularity among teenagers. A survey has revealed that often a teenager engages in sexting only after he has received such. Though many sharing of explicit photographs and sexual texts are widespread, it is a pity that many do not know its long-lasting effects and most importantly, it might be against the law if caught.

Because of the rise of sending explicit pictures and sexual texts among young teenagers of Singapore, the Ministry of Education should introduce interesting classes in schools to educate the young about the dangers of sexting on social networking sites and apps.

It is necessary to stop the teenagers from sexting at an early stage as sexting has grievous consequences. The most obvious one is that sexual messages and explicit photos of oneself can be easily distributed once it has reached the wrong hands. The aftermath might be that the teenager might not be able to go to school the next day, fearing humiliation, or it can be as serious as suicide attempts. Teenagers think that their personal pictures are kept safe on their mobile phones. However, such data are retrieved somehow by sexual predators. Sexual predators collect explicit picture of oneself and blackmail the person in the picture to send more or to meet them in person. One such case was dealt in Wisconsin, USA. David weaver, 51 from Cedarburg, disguised himself as a young girl and collected explicit pictures and videos of more than 100 children across the country (3). Even if a teenager does not get into any such troubles as mentioned above, they might face issues in the future. They might know that their sexts have been leaked out. This poses problems when they apply for universities or jobs in the future.

Many nations have implemented various measures to curb this trend among young teenagers. Depending upon the circumstances, a teenager sending, receiving or possessing explicit pictures or sexual texts can be prosecuted. In Singapore, sexting is dealt under Undesirable Publications Act (4). However                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   actions are only taken upon a complaint. Due to unclear and penalties, a teenager would not file a complaint against the person who would have misused the sext that the teenager has sent. This is because the teenager, though being the victim, might fear of being prosecuted for sending such inacceptable texts or pictures in the first place.

As cases related to sexting are more in the west, legal measures are carefully drafted keeping in mind that there are children under the age of 18 involved in such cases. For example in Texas, a law has been passed that performs a misdemeanour on the initial attempt of sexting by a minor. If the child finishes his or her sexting education course, the child is sentenced to community supervision.  This law has clear penalties and drafted specially for the teenagers. Such clear laws are important as if teenagers are sentenced to the same penalties as the adults, teenagers’ future will be affected. And moreover, the intention behind sexting among young teenagers are different from that of the majors. Young teenagers often do it thinking it is fun and common.   

 As even though, sexting has become widespread and have led to critical cases in the U.S, a survey shows that not many students know it is illegal. Hence, before sexting becomes a major issue in Singapore, the students have to be educated on this sensitive issue. The Ministry of education plays an important role in this. It will be very effective if sexting and other related issues are dealt as an ungraded subject introduced as early as in primary schools. The content can be modified so that it is appropriate for different age groups. In higher and secondary level, the moral and ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps can be taught along with religious and ethnic beliefs. This will not alone help to reduce the trend of sexting among Singaporean teenagers but also promises to develop the future generation with lesser sex crimes and issues like teenage pregnancy. This suggestion can be strongly supported by a study that has been conducted in the United States. It shows that teenagers who are sexting are at high chances of being sexually active or to have unprotected sex (6).

In conclusion, in a city like Singapore which is constantly under the external influences, it would not take a long time for sexting to become prevalent situation. As teens are lured to sext due to their misconceptions and wrong believes of sexual life it is necessary for the Ministry of Education to formulate a course or subject in school to cultivate good values and ethics which will discourage any immoral activities like sexting at a young age. However, one has to think. Did not sexting started among the adults first and then later taken by the teens. So should not the adults be also educated on ethical conduct on social networking sites and apps?

(998 words)