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