One in Five Teens Having Tech Sex

I'm officially too old for this crap. This has nothing to do with birthdays, wrinkles or grey hairs. I've simply come to the conclusion that thirteen-year-olds having any kind of sex grosses me out. 

Yes, that includes "tech sex." Excuse me for my Clintonian response here, but can I have a definition please?

A survey from the folks at Cosmogirl.com and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy puts the number of teens sending racy text messages and shooting naked pics of themselves with their cell phone cameras at one in five. That's twenty percent of kids, although the number of girls is closer to twenty-two percent – not surprising there, guys talk a big game, but they're not as fond of sharing pictures of their johnson because of that little, er, fear of inadequacy. 

Of course, we're still talking about teens and their johnsons . . . so, ewwww. I'm not a prude, but I'm not into kids – and the fact is, these pictures and texts aren't staying in kids' hands. The study showed the kids aren't just sending them to friends but fifteen percent have pushed a button and sent their private parts off to someone they know solely via the Web. In other words – into the hands of someone who could just as easily be a child predator as their new best friend. 

I'm not a fan of taking kids off line – Myspace, Facebook and the like give them a real outlet for venting frustrations and reaching out of their own environment for like-minded individuals that can cut through the solitary life of a lonely teen. BUT, and this is a huge but here, naked pictures of a teenager can ruin lives down the road. I'm not talking getting kicked off the cheerleading squad; but imagine trying to run for president? Or walking into your boss' office when you're twenty-two, only to be handed a picture of yourself circa five years ago doing some very teenage versions of ultimate naughtiness? 

Kids are just starting to get a handle on their body boundaries; and what they feel comfortable sharing. But where a teen girl flashing the football team used to be the stuff of urban high school legends, now a teen girl's accidental text about losing her virginity is the stuff blowing up the net.

I know parents today have valid reasons for getting their kids cell phones – even though none of us had them. Parents are more mobile today, and so are their kids. But at thirteen, a girl taking nude pictures of herself and sending them out to a boy . . . who is sending them out to the rest of the school . . . should be something avoidable. Maybe not giving our kids the best cell phone on the planet with all the gizmos – really, I think they might survive. 

Image: The Inquisitr.com