Jordan Duckworth
College Composition and Research
Summary Response Essay
October 18, 2016
Have fun, Just not too much
What are teens trying to do when sending sexual pictures to others? Commonly referred to as “sexting”, teens have been sending an increased amount of these images and when caught they are facing severe punishment from the law. Senior writer for Slate Magazine Dahlia Lithwick discusses teens true intent when sexting and the seemingly excessive punishment they receive when caught doing so in her essay titled “Teens, Nude Photos and The Law”. Lithwick correctly states that teens are not trying to cause any harm by sending these photos, the fact that they face exceedingly harsh punishment when caught and that males are punished with lighter charges than their female counterparts.
According to Lithwick, “Teens are not trying to cause harm by sexting they are trying to be young and sexy”. Lithwick argues that the punishment is too harsh and outdated to cover an issue such as teens and sexting. A survey from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that one in five teens admitted to sending a nude photo. Additionally, if teens are caught sexting they could face a punishment as severe as being forced to register as a sex offender for 20 years. Lithwick says that it's too harsh to charge teens with the same felonies that actual producers of child pornography get because the teens don't realize the consequences of their actions. Finally, Lithwick states that most teens aren't trying to be predators. They are just trying to be young and have fun by being sexy. Also the girls should not be charged with harsher felonies for sending the nude pictures.
The fact that the law treats every sexting case with the same severity as an actual producer of child pornography is shocking. As Lithwick states, “The real problem with criminalizing teen sexting as a form of child pornography is that the great majority of these kids are not predators”. I agree with Lithwick here, because while, yes, there are some younger predators, these are few and far between. Most teens just want to have some fun while they are young by being spontaneous. Teens are always told stories from generations before them and are told to make their teen years memorable, yet anytime that teens actually go out and try to have some fun, they are punished to the fullest extent of the law. Many teens thoughts on sexting is not that they want to produce child pornography. It's that they want to be young, sexy, and live in the moment.
Most teens are told to have a fun teen experience but then everything they try to do they are punished for.Lithwick states, “We seem to forget that kids can be as tech-savvy as Bill Gates but as gullible as Bambi”. While I take some offense to being called a baby deer I do have to say that Lithwick does make a good point. Many teens are handy with electronics but don't think about the consequences of doing many things on the devices, even if the punishments are ridiculous. Teens break many laws with technology everyday but instead of making it harder for them to do so they are just punished to the fullest extent and then it's expected that all teens will take that as an example and never do what they did. Like Lithwick said Teens can be gullible, we don't learn from others mistakes, we learn from our own.
Sexting in teens usually occurs after the male asks for a picture of the girl sometimes leading to the girl feeling pressured. Lithwick states that “Experts insist the sexting trend hurts teen girls more than boys, fretting that they feel "pressured" to take and send naked photos”. I believe this is true in most cases the guy is the one who asks for a picture yet the girls are then punished with more serious charges. While i believe all of the charges are a bit harsh, those that persecute “sexters” should punish the sexes equally. In some cases the girls are hurt emotionally, socially, and mentally then charged with harsh felonies, while the guys are charged with slightly less severe charges and not affected. There are many cases when the law has double standards but this is the only case where the law punishes the “victim” harsher than the other party.
Teens are not trying to cause trouble when sexting and they should not face such harsh punishments but if they do face these punishments they should be punished equally. The Law that deals with child pornography should not be applied to simple sexting cases. Many teens have to face a lifetime of problems if they are punished such as social withdrawal, depression and it can even lead to suicide. New laws should be created to deal with the complexity of each case and punishments should not ruin the lives of teens just for 10 seconds of fun.
Work Cited
Lithwick, Dahlia. "Lithwick: Teens, Nude Photos and the Law."Newsweek. N.p., 13 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.
College Composition and Research
Summary Response Essay
October 18, 2016
Have fun, Just not too much
What are teens trying to do when sending sexual pictures to others? Commonly referred to as “sexting”, teens have been sending an increased amount of these images and when caught they are facing severe punishment from the law. Senior writer for Slate Magazine Dahlia Lithwick discusses teens true intent when sexting and the seemingly excessive punishment they receive when caught doing so in her essay titled “Teens, Nude Photos and The Law”. Lithwick correctly states that teens are not trying to cause any harm by sending these photos, the fact that they face exceedingly harsh punishment when caught and that males are punished with lighter charges than their female counterparts.
According to Lithwick, “Teens are not trying to cause harm by sexting they are trying to be young and sexy”. Lithwick argues that the punishment is too harsh and outdated to cover an issue such as teens and sexting. A survey from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reported that one in five teens admitted to sending a nude photo. Additionally, if teens are caught sexting they could face a punishment as severe as being forced to register as a sex offender for 20 years. Lithwick says that it's too harsh to charge teens with the same felonies that actual producers of child pornography get because the teens don't realize the consequences of their actions. Finally, Lithwick states that most teens aren't trying to be predators. They are just trying to be young and have fun by being sexy. Also the girls should not be charged with harsher felonies for sending the nude pictures.
The fact that the law treats every sexting case with the same severity as an actual producer of child pornography is shocking. As Lithwick states, “The real problem with criminalizing teen sexting as a form of child pornography is that the great majority of these kids are not predators”. I agree with Lithwick here, because while, yes, there are some younger predators, these are few and far between. Most teens just want to have some fun while they are young by being spontaneous. Teens are always told stories from generations before them and are told to make their teen years memorable, yet anytime that teens actually go out and try to have some fun, they are punished to the fullest extent of the law. Many teens thoughts on sexting is not that they want to produce child pornography. It's that they want to be young, sexy, and live in the moment.
Most teens are told to have a fun teen experience but then everything they try to do they are punished for.Lithwick states, “We seem to forget that kids can be as tech-savvy as Bill Gates but as gullible as Bambi”. While I take some offense to being called a baby deer I do have to say that Lithwick does make a good point. Many teens are handy with electronics but don't think about the consequences of doing many things on the devices, even if the punishments are ridiculous. Teens break many laws with technology everyday but instead of making it harder for them to do so they are just punished to the fullest extent and then it's expected that all teens will take that as an example and never do what they did. Like Lithwick said Teens can be gullible, we don't learn from others mistakes, we learn from our own.
Sexting in teens usually occurs after the male asks for a picture of the girl sometimes leading to the girl feeling pressured. Lithwick states that “Experts insist the sexting trend hurts teen girls more than boys, fretting that they feel "pressured" to take and send naked photos”. I believe this is true in most cases the guy is the one who asks for a picture yet the girls are then punished with more serious charges. While i believe all of the charges are a bit harsh, those that persecute “sexters” should punish the sexes equally. In some cases the girls are hurt emotionally, socially, and mentally then charged with harsh felonies, while the guys are charged with slightly less severe charges and not affected. There are many cases when the law has double standards but this is the only case where the law punishes the “victim” harsher than the other party.
Teens are not trying to cause trouble when sexting and they should not face such harsh punishments but if they do face these punishments they should be punished equally. The Law that deals with child pornography should not be applied to simple sexting cases. Many teens have to face a lifetime of problems if they are punished such as social withdrawal, depression and it can even lead to suicide. New laws should be created to deal with the complexity of each case and punishments should not ruin the lives of teens just for 10 seconds of fun.
Work Cited
Lithwick, Dahlia. "Lithwick: Teens, Nude Photos and the Law."Newsweek. N.p., 13 Mar. 2010. Web. 18 Oct. 2016.