Austin Murray
Group Summary
English 101
September 29, 2016
Teens, Nude Photos
There is a new epidemic among us: sexting. The teen sexting epidemic is getting out of hand; parents need to let their kids know that one dumb decision can cause a lifetime of embarrassment. On the other hand, judges need to realize that a lifetime of humiliation isn't cause for a lifetime of negative effects from a criminal record.. Sexting, also known as sending, receiving, or forwarding nude photos of oneself via cell phone, is on the rise. One out of five teens have admitted to sexting. Lithwick states that “whether this reflects child-porn epidemic, or just a new iteration of the old teen narcissism epidemic, remains unclear” (Lithwick par 1). Nevertheless, minors all around the country are being charged with possession and distribution of child pornagraphy, which is a federal offence. As a result, children around the country are being legally labeled as sex offenders. Generally speaking, Lithwick believes the criminal justice system is not the best way to handle the sexting epidemic. Prosecutors have charged the sender, the receiver, and the forwarder of explicit photos with the same crime: child pornagraphy. However, most of the children that send photos are not sexual predators. They are just hormone filled teens that want to experiment. That's why charging teens with felonies for sexting is a problem. Lithwick argues that the prosecutor's reason to charge minors who send, receive, save, or forward smutty photos of minors to the fullest extent of the law is flawed. For instance, the prosecutor’s reasoning is sending, receiving, or forwarding nude photos of minors could seriously harm them in the future. That argument is flawed because the action the prosecutors are taking is charging these minors with felonies, which definitely would affect their lives in a negative way.
Works Cited
Lithwick, Dahlia. “Teens, Nude Photos, and the Law.” Newsweek, 23 Feb. 2016.
“Teens, Nude Photos, and the Law.