Sexting Video

"Sexting" Epidemic-Parents Investigate Teens Sending Racy/Nude Texts & E-mails
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx6VDlPK-08&NR=1

This article gives parents advice on how to watch their children's phones for sexting videos. They can open the phone if the child has a lock on it. Most parents who find out about sexting never knew that anything like this existed. Parents and grandparents are told to watch closely who the child talks to and what type of information is being sent. Many teens don't realize that what they consider harmless fun can have extreme consequences and even be a serious life altering event. I also found through this article that there is a new technology that lets the security company recreate all deleted files on the camera card.

As a parent, I would consider a picture phone once the child is 16 or 17 but not before that. The phone should be for emergencies or for me to be able to find the child at any time after school or on weekends. I would check the phone on a regular basis after the child gets it because I do not want predators after my child. All parents need to sit the child down and tell them honestly and straight forward about sex offenders, stalkers, and the serious nature of owning a phone. As a teacher, I will not allow phones in my class. If I find that someone has their phone out during class, the phone will be mine for the rest of the day. If a student came to me with a problem like this sexting, I would research it and then contact the parents, principal, and counselors on behalf of the student. I might even consider using a class period to teach the class about the dangers of sexting and have a police officer come to the class to give the legal side of the problem.