Essay Sample: Is Sexting a Safer Form of Sex?

Cellphones have nowadays become ubiquitous devices that are easily found in the pockets or bags of roughly every individual globally. Cell phones have dragged so many individuals both old and young into too many troubles in the recent days. Almost every one sends and receives text messages. However, there is the modern norm which is very common to some people which is famously known as sex-texting or sexting. Sexting is a precarious and at the same time an addictive phenomenon destroying the lives of adults and the young all over the state if not the whole universe (Lloyd, 2018). Notably, this aspect tends to cause severe consequences. It is a rapidly growing epidemic, and the only way to curb its growth is to come up with close relationships with the teens of todays society.

In the modern world, almost every individual, even teens as young as eight possess a cell phone which has a camera. In as much as it very is convenient, camera phones have the potential of causing massive troubles due to underage pornography that is derived from sexting or transferring lascivious pictures (Fleschler, 2013). Apart from sexting it is also promoting child pornography and it brings the urge of disseminating the sext to the internet or other contacts. For instance in America, there are frequent cases of students committing suicides after their sext goes viral or even shared in the entire institution. Therefore, these examples show that indeed sexting is not safer sex at all.

It is also crucial to note that, some individuals argue that sexting is the perfect way of communicating with your partner especially when the two are in a long distance relationship. Since the couples are far away, the best way of enjoying some sexual or intimate moments is through sext. Therefore, they tend to use mobile phones as a tool for disseminating the innermost thoughts to the other individual. Subsequently, others claim that it a great way to open up about the hidden secrets. Hiding behind a computer screen provides a person with the courage to open up on some things that are hard to discuss or say when together face to face.

On the other side, it is very evident that the youths who engage in cell phone sext stand a higher chance of being sexually active. This suggests that they are at risk of participating in risky sexual acts. Moreover, the internet is full of people who claim sexting to be some sort of safer sex, in that it is a way of adolescents to express their level of sexuality without the fear of contracting STDs or even getting pregnant (Lloyd, 2018). However, the truth of the matter is that sexting can have legal punishment and it is viewed as the sexual harassment and bullying. Moreover, sending sexually explicit photos of a minor can be substituted as a child pregnancy. If a person is found to be a victim, the laws ensure that child pornography carries hefty legal punishments.

To sum up, parents should be on the forefront to instill to their teens that safe sex is abstaining. Youths should practice abstinence until when they get a partner to settle down with. This is the only reliable method of preventing pregnancy and STDs and not the sext. Subsequently, abstinence allows the youths to take their minds off sex and as a result, it gives them the ability to form relationships with more depths. Therefore, it is the ideal moment for the youths to make wise decisions that will be of significance to their lives instead of indulging in the evil acts of sext.

References

Fleschler Peskin, M., Markham, C. M., Addy, R. C., Shegog, R., Thiel, M., & Tortolero, S. R. (2013). Prevalence and patterns of sexting among ethnic minority urban high school students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 16(6), 454-459. Doi:10.1089/cyber.2012.0452.

Lloyd, C. (2018). The crime of sexting: a deconstructive approach. Information & Communications Technology Law, 27(1), 55-85. Doi:10.1080/13600834.2017.1393933.