Forget passing notes in study hall
Passing notes during study hall is old hat for teens - apparently the “in” thing is flirting via text and sending nudie shots via pix messaging.
The instant text, picture and video messages have become part of some teens’ courtship behavior, police and school officials said. The messages often spread quickly and sometimes find their way to public Web sites.
“I’ve seen everything from your basic striptease to sexual acts being performed,” said Reynoldsburg police Detective Brian Marvin, a member of the FBI Cyber Crime Task Force of Central Ohio. “You name it, they will do it at their home under this perceived anonymity.”
Who would have ever believed there would be a need for parents to invest in a book titled Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence - This is some scary chit ma’friend!
A study last year found teens are placing more of an emphasis on image and fame than in the past. Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies young people’s trends, found that teens are more confident and assertive than ever before.
I’m not sure I’d agree with confident or assertive really - Stupid and risky, yes, but confident, ummm NO!
As a parent of three teen boys who have cell phones, I check their phones regularly and have found kids who message my kids to be freely using the F word, an occasional C word - and that pushes me to a near breaking point of banning cell phones. But naked images?
Personally, if I EVER found that my kids were in receipt of naked images of schoolmates, I’d report the brainless little twit that sent the pic.
I guess you could say that I aspire to be the most dreaded soccer mom, but dammit, these kids need to fear someone.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Parenting
6 opinions for Forget passing notes in study hall
Thrifty Karen
Apr 15, 2008 at 12:38 pm
You’re right. This is scary!!!! I’m dreading the teenage years!
Ashley
Apr 15, 2008 at 1:03 pm
me too..
kadi
Apr 15, 2008 at 1:54 pm
WTF? When I was in high school, sex was something that only the boys bragged about. There was no such things as girls making out in the school bathrooms, or texting nudie pics. Such a person would be labeled a whore by the student body.
I’ve never home schooled…but this kind of “chit” makes me want to look into it.
Thrifty Karen
Apr 15, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I agree Kadi. We work with the youth at church and I’ve seen and heard a lot of stuff that goes on. It’s made me think more and more of homeschooling.
Ashley
Apr 16, 2008 at 7:09 am
I think there’s a weird message being pumped into teenage girls these days. When we were teenagers it was something like “Be sexy - but leave something to the imagination” somewhere in between ‘goody-goody’ and ’slut’ was what most of us shot for..”normal”
Now our teenage girls are watching shows like ‘my sweet 16′, ‘girls’ gone wild’, ‘the girls next door’, ‘real world’ and they’re looking up to Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and Britney Spears (until recently).. I’m very worried about what kind of “normal” they’re aspiring to be.
Gayla McCord
Apr 16, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Ain’t that the truth Ashley?
I’m glad I have boys - but I feel sorry for them with the grade of gals they get to choose from these days.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: