Those teens. Always thinking. Always one step ahead of us. Even when it comes to sexting.
Because while we've been convincing ourselves that it can't get any worse than our daughters and sons sending naked pictures of themselves to a friend via cellphone, they just made it MUCH worse on themselves. An estimated 39 percent of teens have "sexted," but the number of teenagers sending naked VIDEOS has been on the rise. I don't know about you, but that just made me gag a little.
Because nothing sounds worse than these four words said in succession: my daughter's sex tape. Ewww! Did you just cringe a little bit too? I'm ready to roll out the bubble myself.
Because kids don't think "sex tape" like "Pamela Anderson" or a (shudder) Real Housewives "star," but that's what sexting videos is, right? Sending poorly shot (please, oh please, be pixel-y and grainy) moving pictures of a naked child out to the world, to bounce around from cellphone to cellphone in perpetuity for people to watch. Even if they're not getting it on with someone, it's still a porn video at the very least. And most disgustingly, a CHILD porn video.
A picture may represent 1,000 words, but a video is thousands of pictures (if you're freeze-framing), allowing someone to look at our kids nakedness over and over and then over again. It's essentially a picture amplified. One picture catches one moment, and you get lucky. A video catches it all, your flaws as you move, as you talk.
And that's not even considering the thought of the video being shot without your kid knowing it, then disseminated around the Web, a la a video in the gym locker room or at a sleepover. It opens a kid up for more bullying and more exploitation in just one few seconds long clip.
I'm not being a prude here people. If your kid is over 18, getting into the adult entertainment business a la sex videos is his/her business. But while she's a kid, this is one of the worst things I can think of my child volunteering to do to herself.
Is this worse than naked pictures or just more of the same disturbing trend?
Image via BFS Man/Flickr