Posted on October 26, 2009

All across the country boys and girls are using the built in cameras on their cell phones to take nude and semi-nude shots of themselves and sending them to boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, or classmates. It’s called “sexting.” And while they may just consider it to be high tech flirting, many teens have no idea that the practice is actually considered to be pornography and has very serious consequences.  In some recent cases, young people were registered as sex offenders as a result of sending these types of text messages, a stigma that could haunt them the rest of their lives.

According to a report from Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, about one in five teens have engaged in sexting, and over a third know of a friend who has sent or received a sext.  And, perhaps most disturbingly, about 1 in 10 sext senders say they have sent them to people they don’t even know.

In light of these alarming revelations, a new survey from Lawyers.com showed that while parents are aware of this activity nearly two-thirds don’t think their kids have ever engaged in this x-rated activity.  And nearly a third of parents are unsure they understand the potential dangers associated with sexting, including the proclivity toward cyberbullying and legal ramifications.  Renowned attorney, Gloria Allred, is available to talk about the news survey findings and provide tips on how parents can protect their teen from the emotional and legal damages. She says that parents can be part of the solution in curbing the problem and shares what they can do to get through to their kids on this important issue.

Gloria Allred is the most famous female attorney practicing law in the nation today, a tireless and successful advocate whose high-profile legal battles on behalf of victims whose rights have been violated have led to many landmark precedent-setting court decisions.  Voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America, and described by Time magazine as "one of the nation's most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes," Allred has devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age and social class. Gloria Allred is a founding partner of Allred, Maroko & Goldberg, one of the pre-eminent plaintiff civil law firms in the country, which has won national prominence through many precedent-setting cases. 

Stats:

South

• Nearly a third (32%) of parents are unaware of the practice called “sexting”
• 20% of parents neither agree nor disagree to whether there are legal consequences involved if teens are caught sexting

Northeast

• Nearly a third (32%) of parents are unaware of the practice called “sexting”
• 25% of parents are unsure they understand the potential dangers associated with “sexting”
• Nearly a quarter (24%) of parents neither agree nor disagree to whether there are legal consequences involved if teens are caught sexting

North Central

• Nearly three in ten (28%) of parents are unaware of the practice called “sexting”

West

• A third of parents (33%) are unaware of the practice called “sexting”
• 28% of parents are unsure they understand the potential dangers associated with “sexting”
• Nearly a quarter (22%) of parents neither agree nor disagree to whether there are legal consequences involved if teens are caught sexting