Teen Checkup | Internet Safety

Teens Not Shy About Nude Photos

Text Messaging has become a mystery for parents these days. Either they are mystified by it or they are text messaging as well. How is a parent supposed to decipher all those abbreviations teens are texting?

Has text messaging become an addition for our kids?

Using text messaging via cell phone is not new, but this technology is now one of the most favorite and popular among everyone from tweens to grandparents. This technique of communication is one method of connecting with co-workers, friends, relatives, acquaintances and whom else?

I wondered is this text messaging just a teen addiction?

I also wondered where were these messages stored? And, when I deleted the incoming and outgoing ones, do they ever really go away? Now, teens don’t worry because all their text messages are in code. Are these stored somewhere forever?

What is happening with our tweens, teens, and texting?

Now whether teen girls think it’s a new innovative way to get dates by texting and attaching nude pictures of themselves or is this just low self-esteem? First of all, is there no modesty left in this millennium or are girls so desperate to get attention they are willing to send nude pictures of themselves to their boyfriends or potential boyfriends? What has gone wrong? And, what can parents do?

There are various options in the world of limiting text messaging. Only pay for a certain number of messages in a month? If you purchase the monthly package, most incoming ones are free and unlimited and they even give you an email address to send, receive and reply via text message. Is this a good thing?

Short of sounding like a commercial for wireless providers, I want to bring parental awareness on various ways to perform text messaging:

Use your mobile phone to text to another phone that can receive a text message.

Use your PC and the “send a text” option to a wireless device.

Send and/or receive a text message to or from a mobile device from any e-mail address in the world by addressing the email to the phone number and you can customize your email address provided by the service provider to use a nickname (example susy@vtext.com is one example).

Cell phone companies make it hard these days to control text messaging. They have implemented additional benefits and options.

What are parents to do?

Warning to parents to inform their kids, when they text nude images of themselves or any other minor this is considered “child pornography” and can be prosecuted this behavior is now widely known as “sexting.”

Most schools have electronic device use policies in place. Parents should check the school’s website where your children attend and read the school policies. Some schools forbid the use of electronic devices on their campuses. Is your school one of them?

When we integrate the web we can track and monitor. Then there is the hard core solution (which for some is the best solution of all).

One parent stopped her teen from texting because she became addicted. Her daughter was texting on 2 to 4 conversations at once, going to bed with her phone at night. There is really a very simple solution, you can have the text messaging service connected to your child’s phone turned off.

How easy is it to track down someone with a mobile device who is texting? How easy is it to communicate with someone via text they don’t even know?

Some services come with text blocking. You can block text messages to your handset. Control messages sent from e-mail addresses, domain names and web sites.  Check with your particular service provider as they now all have parental controls available.

Denise Pellow, in June 2006, created KidsBeSafeOnline LLC. She is passionate about educating parents regarding technologies and its interaction with youth. Denise is an entrepreneur, Internet safety speaker, advocate, and educator. Most recently, Denise is also the author of The Five Dangerous Trends Concerning Kids, Technology and the Internet. Her websites are http://www.kidsbesafeonline.com and http://www.attentionparents.com designed to educate parents, teachers and the community regarding kids, technology and the Internet.