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Sexting - Protect Your Teens

Do you know what your teenagers are accessing on their phones? Did you know that 22% of teenage girls and 18% of teenage boys have taken nude or semi-nude photos of themselves? That 33% of teenage boys report seeing such photos?Are you aware that 39% of teens have sent naughty texts as a means of flirting? As texting, camera phones, and internet-based phones ("smart phones") increase in use both new dangers and benefits must be acknowledged and dealt with. http://www.ilivevalues.com/ provides a helpful resource titled "Sex and Cell Phones: Protect Your Teens." Here are some excerpts and benefits of this resource:

Statistics from http://www.nationalcoalition.org/

  • "A survey of 600 households conducted by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children found that 20% of parents do not know any of their children’s Internet passwords, instant messaging nicknames or email addresses"
  • "The average age of first Internet exposure to pornography is 11 years oldInternet Pornography Statistics. Internet Filter Review, 2004"
  • "The largest consumer of Internet pornography is the 12-17 age groupInternet Pornography Statistics. Internet Filter Review, 2004"
  • "Only 5% of parents recognized the acronym POS (parent over shoulder) and only 1% could identify WTGP (want to go private?), both of which are used frequently by teens when instant messagingAds target online victimization of children. USA Today, 20 May 2004. "

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