Pornography and Teen Dating Violence
While it may be normal and healthy for teens and pre-teens to develop curiosity in their sexuality, internet access and social media have resulted in alarming statistics when it comes to young people being exposed to pornography. There is a never-ending collection of pornographic images available for unrestricted viewing by adults as well as kids. Young people are immersed in porn culture everywhere they look: internet searches, gaming, social media, YouTube, movies, TV...
Here are some recent statistics that uncover the reality for today's youth:
1 in 4 sexually active adolescent females have an STD (14-19 years)
1 in 4 teens is sexting (sending/receiving sexually explicit messages, photographs or videos of oneself to others)
71% of tweens and 84% of teens encountered nudity or content of a sexual nature
Average age of a child's first exposure to pornography is 11 years old
Pornography searches increase by 4,700% when children are out of school
Some facts about the porn industry:
It is the largest growing industry on the Internet making $15billion annually
It targets kids
It does not portray reality
It portrays people as objects
It's often linked to human trafficking
Sexting/Sending Nudes
It's become a common trend for teens to send nude photos of themselves which sometimes is referred to as “sexting”.
A recent study by Northwestern University has shown just how common it is for teen boys to coerce or threaten girls into sending nude pictures. An analysis of 500 accounts from 12-18 year-old girls about ‘negative experiences sexting’ found that two-thirds of them had been asked to provide explicit images - and that the requests often progressed from promises of affection to "anger displays, harassment and threats.”
The study found that less than 8% of girls shared explicit photos because they wanted to. The rest did so because of a desire to please, acquiesce, or avoid conflict with a boy. Moreover, while researchers found that both girls and boys send nude photos to one another, boys are nearly four times more likely to pressure girls to do so than the reverse.
(source: www.amightygirl.com)
Facts about sexting:
Often starts in middle school
Most kids are unfamiliar with any ramifications and don't really know what they are doing
Most girls don’t think about where the photos could end up
Many girls feel that requests for photographs are inevitable and unavoidable
Many times, girls have no framework for what to do
An example of "sexting gone wrong":
A 9th grade student was struggling with being accepted in a new school, but she gained the attention from a popular senior football player. He eventually convinced her to send him nude photos, and after she did, he shared them with the whole team. Soon enough, the entire school was aware of the photos and the girl was devastated. She did not think this was something she could recover from and that the only way to deal with it was to commit suicide.
Many times girls don’t know how to say no. They have a desire to be accepted, to be popular, to be wanted and liked. In some cases, it's the girls who are asking the boys for nude photos.
How can we stop teen dating violence before it starts?
Educators/doctors may be able to start the conversation, but it is fundamentally a parent's job to provide information about sex/relationships early and often. Education and information is key in helping prepare our kids to know how to set boundaries, how to say “NO” and what it means to respect yourself and others.
TIPS:
Try to start having these conversations early (in grade school), and keep the conversation going
Look for ways to empower them to say “NO”
Role-play with them practicing different scenarios and refusal skills
Walk them through what is okay and what is not okay when it comes to technology
Discuss the dangers of different online environments (i.e. Snapchat, Instagram)
Make them aware of the ramifications of viewing, requesting or sending nude photos or videos
Talk to them about respect for self and others
Monitor their phone use and online activities as much as possible
