AU- 'Sexting' normal: academics

10-10-2008 Australia:

Queensland teenagers have taken sexual experimentation to the cyber world, with an explosion in the number of youngsters taking and distributing nude pictures of themselves via mobile phones.

The phenomenon, dubbed "sexting", may be cause for alarm among parents, teachers and authorities concerned over the perils of child pornography, however academics say the trend is a "normal" part of growing up in the 21st century.

"Teenagers are simply exploring their sexuality and they are using technology because they can," Queensland University of Technology Senior Lecturer of Psychology Dr Marilyn Campbell said.

The full extent of sexting has not been quantified, but a recent survey by a teenage girls' magazine Girlfriend found 40 per cent of respondents had been asked to send sexual images of themselves to schoolfriends, boyfriends, girlfriends or potential suitors.

The practice has already led to 32 Victorian teenagers being charged with child pornography offences last year.

And in Brisbane, a private schoolboy was jailed in December after keeping explicit photographs of his 15 year-old teenage girlfriend on his school computer.

Dr Campbell said the depersonalisation of communication afforded by texting meant teenagers felt uninhibited when it came to taking and sending nude photographs of themselves.

"Unlike previous generations, teenagers have assigned a different moral code to online or mobile phone communication. They wouldn't say one thing to someone's face, but think it's OK to say the same thing via text message," Dr Campbell said.

Dr Campbell said children who were exposed to sexual images in the media and the expectations of a consumer driven society were likely to explore their own sexuality in early adolescence.

"Unfortunately, this depersonalisation of communication through technology clouds their judgement about what is and what is not appropriate," she said.

"That's when cases arise around more serious issues of child pornography. The naked picture of a 15 year-old girl is child pornography, whether she was sending it to her 16 year-old boyfriend or not."

Any image of a minor in a sexual activity or in an indecent manner is considered child pornography, and anyone who passes on or receives those images is liable to face criminal charges.

The survey by Girlfriend magazine found that four in 10 readers had been asked to forward a nude photo of themselves via multimedia phone messaging, known as MMS.

Police say girls were especially involved, and the third-generation of mobile phone technology, or 3G, which can send large image files straight to the internet was exacerbating the risks associated with the trend.

Associate Lecturer of Social Science at Melbourne's RMIT, Rys Farthing, said teenagers needed to be educated about the power of mobile phone technology and understand the risks associated with rapid image messaging.

"Technology is an inherent part of teenagers' lives, so there does need to be quality education and policy about the dangers of using such technology," Ms Farthing said.

"The generation gap is getting wider, and while there is importance of having a moral arbiter in parents and teachers and the like, policy and education which acknowledges the importance of technology in their daily lives is paramount."

..News Source.. by Marissa Calligeros