20 Percent of Teens Partake in 'Sexting': Should They Face Charges?

Even though I don't think it is appropriate, you can't criminalize and legislate morality. I think we should be more focused on kids texting while driving, which is a threat to society.causing more than 400,000 accidents yearly. We already have laws dealing with child pornography!

That's kinda the point of this poll, I think... Should it be against child pornography laws to send naked pics of oneself?

Only, if teens get behind the wheel and do not drive.

I say yes for the fact they know better, but they should not have to sign registered sex offender

The consept of sex offender gives a thing Jesus does not give. Can you guess?

don't care what does Jesus have to do with this?

Everything. Jesus in the soul saves the soul. Don't have him refusing him, and whomever will do bad waring etc calling it good. The humans even saying sex offender in hatred does not have Jesus in them. Eternally speaking you are responsible for you. A nosy human using accusing words is not responsible about themselves not even considering themselves being irresponsible. Devils are not responsible

Jesus is people who want to believe in religion don't bring religion onto a webiste

Don't jump down my throat .You don't know about the conflict between Jesus, and the religions of his time.That conflict remains until this day. Yea all that will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution. That is in 2 timothy.KJV,
I am not representing a condemning, accusing, pious soft robbed praying on the street corner to impress the minds of men. Nether do I endorsing the laws of mosses that religions use to throw stones. Jesus ignored those laws, but religions accepted them. How then can you persist in calling what I do religious? Religious is the goats. Persecuted are the the Christians. It is the opposite to what you think.

I dont care for a conflict of jesus and religions this is a site is about asking question not forcing your opioion of religion down people throat

It is all connected. Jesus made sex. Jesus Like said is not religion. Had Jesus be religion he would be one of the soft robbed priests going along with stone throwing.

forgiveness.

Then Jesus would be seen for people to behold to be changed into his likeness. People would see a better way than giving guilt with jails saving their soul.

Sexting is safer than hiding ion a closet for a fast game of "You show me yours and I;ll show you mine!"

But I think they should face charges for forwarding someone else's explicit photos to other people with out that person's permission.

This is why Europeans laugh at us. This country was essentially founded by Puritans.. and our sexual hang-ups to date prove that king of ethical world view about sex is alive and while. "Charging" teens, presumably for a criminal offense, for using a common communication tool to communicate their sexuality? Ridiculous. Prudes, parents, and preachers need to release their death-grip on human sexuality and except it for the beautiful, sometimes dirty, always complicated thing that is..and just let go of their fears of it.

"Prudes", teachers and parents are merely trying to preserve a semblence of decency in a country, where too many schoolgirls sport around dressed like hookers. Fortunately, even today Puritan ethics re work and sex are still alive and well in some quarters. Let Europeans laugh at their own de-christinazation, islamization and Euro-decline, and let's see who will have the last laugh (I suggest you review history and bone up on the fall of the Roman empire and its underlying reasons).

This country would be a lot better if it was de-christianized. Breast feeding is viewed as sexually explicit, gays are outcasted, now they want to charge teens for exploring their sexuality. There is a reason people are happier in Europe my friend.

Sorry to disppoint you. I was raised in Europe -- Germany, to be exact -- and have followed up statistics. They don't look too felicitious, as compared to the US.

The criminal system in this country is absolutely broken, sexting? Really?...

I hit the wrong response. I meant to say no. The problem with the current law is that even though I disagree with teens doing this they get labeled as a sex offender for life. That's way overboard for what is basically young kids being somewhat stupid. It needs punishment but it needs to be tempered in context with the age of the offender. The current laws r ridiculous.

well said!

Absolutely. If they are going to partake in adult things, they should face adult circumstances.

But that's the problem - they're not being treated like adults; they're being treated as "poor innocent vulnerable children" who have to be protected by being charged under the law, apparently.

The ones getting charged are not being treated as poor innocent anything. We have 12 year olds getting charged in the US. As it should be in my opinion. My kids don;t do that, because they have been told what might happen.

My point is that it's hypocritical - on one hand we're trying to "protect" them because they're "just children"; on the other hand we're "protecting" them by using some very adult-level punishments, i.e. charging them under the law.

Unless you think that adults should be forbidden by law from sexting as well?

No I get your point, I think we just have two different ways of expressing it.

I bet you would be surprised at what your kids are actually doing.

Just take the cameras of the phones, tell there old enough to know better.

We need to remove the antiquated laws. Teens should never be prosecuted nor should the people they are texting.

So I am going to answer no with the following qualifier..... It is against the law to produce or have in your possession any image of any human, male or female, under the age of 18, committing a sex act. So if that is what is being exchanged in the 'sexting' then so be it, and perhaps charges should apply..... same rules for everyone... HOWEVER, if this is a young couple exchanging some pics of themselves to each other, then no harm done, and it could legally likely argued in a court as "ART" rather than porn..... But this should be considered on a case by case basis, by reasonable individuals not militants or freedom hippies.... lol... The reality is, AND THE TEENS NEED TO LEARN THIS PART, absolutely nothing sent via email, text, or posted on the web, is secure and private.... Someone somewhere that nobody knows can and will get their hands on it and see it.... So if you are showing off your naughty pics, be prepared for someone to see them that you don't want.. and it could be a cop; so think before you do this stuff.....

i dont think its anyone's buisness what i do with my phone

Yes. If it is against the law, then it is against the law. How hard is that. Years ago, the big deal was to moon and bare breasts from a moving vehicle. Ultimately, the blue lights, a ticket, a court fine and a little public shame put an end to it. It wasn't deemed a serious felony, but court action woke most people up and they moved on and made better decisions. In the case of texting, the harm could be greater, because the sender of the images will forever lose control of where those images go, and many if not most are underage. Sometimes you have to save these "youngsters" from themselves before they grow up to reget their own actions.

LOL, mooning and flashing are still alive and well, many on the sex offender registry can attest to that! Sexting is just a modern day version of those acts, only deemed child pornography because it is produced in image form. You don't save a child from "themselves" by taking their entire future away from them. Make the punishment fit the actual crime.

No!!! just no... We do not need politics to tell us what to write in messages. and aren't those supposed to be private???? How will they know?

Teenagers are not children, as much as everyone tries to say they are. They are capable of making judgements and accepting consequences. A teenage girl can make the decision to send a racy picture to someone else, or not. What ever happened to letting people learn from their own mistakes? If teenage sexting is going to be illegal, why not just make it illegal for teenagers to acknowlegde their sexuality? Because that makes just about the same amount of sense.

It seems that is precisely what they are attempting to accomplish, however.

Seriously!!!!!!
Let teens do what they want to!
It's nobodies f***** business

I think it all comes down to the Man standing up to his responsiabilty he carries the seed he should provide protect produce a standard that his seed can live by and apply in life, instead of making seeds for someone else to destroy.

Its their phone their business, they chose to have their photos all over facebook