Leonard Sax: Blame Parents, Not Kids, for Sexting - WSJ.com

OPINION

"Leonard Sax: Blame Parents, Not Kids, for Sexting

If mom and dad installed monitoring software on their middle-schoolers' phones, it would make a big difference.

By LEONARD SAX

Oct. 24, 2013 6:50 p.m. ET

Earlier this year I visited a school in turmoil. It began with two students: a sixth-grade girl who I'll call Emily, and her 14-year-old boyfriend, who I'll call Justin. Justin begged Emily to send him some photos. "Nothing raunchy," he said. Their parents would never know, he promised.

Emily did as he asked in the privacy of her bedroom. She pulled down her shirt to reveal the curve of her breast. (Like many other 12-year-old girls nowadays, she could easily pass for 15.)

Justin promised Emily that nobody else would ever see the photos, and it seems he meant to keep that promise. But Justin left his phone unattended at a party, and another boy, we'll call him Brett, picked up Justin's phone, scrolled through the photos, and saw the ones Emily had sent. Brett forwarded the photos of Emily from Justin's phone to his phone, and then posted the photos on Instagram, using an account with a fictitious name."

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Leonard Sax: Blame Parents, Not Kids, for Sexting - WSJ.com


http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_24382563/poll-cyberbullying-declines-while-more-teen-victims-get-help