Sunday, 14 August 2011 12:00am

Teens fall victim to sexting

Police are concerned about the growing prevalence of sexting among young people - particularly teenagers who do not understand the long-term consequences of this behaviour.

Sexting is the act of sending provocative or sexual photos, messages or videos using mobile phones.

Teenagers of today need to be aware that the consequences of sexting have the potential to surface unexpectedly in their adult lives.

“It isn’t simply a matter of changing your name by deed poll later in your adult life to escape the association with these images. These images can carry what amounts to a digital fingerprint,” Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Blundell from SAPOL’s Electronic Crime Section said.

A common scenario occurs when teenagers send naked pictures to each other while in a relationship. When the relationship has ended, one party forwards the photos to others – or distributes them via their social network of online “friends”, that can number in hundreds.

“The increase in adolescent sexting is a result of a growing number of  teenagers owning smart phones – or mobile phones equipped with cameras, video and internet access,” Detective Blundell said.

Under state child pornography laws, it is a crime for anyone to transmit or possess naked pictures of a person aged under 16. For teens, this includes taking and sending images of your own body.

Those found guilty of making and sharing child pornography face penalties of up to 10 years in prison and possible registration on the sex offender registry.

For victims, particularly teens, there can be long-term damage and permanent consequences. 

“Once these images are out there, you have no control as to who will access them or when." Detective Blundell said.

“These images may be viewed by thousands of people across various social media networks where paedophiles can download them and add them to their collection.”

Young people are high-end users of technology, and often are more technically savvy than their parents.

“Children don’t understand the consequences of sexting and parents don’t understand the technology,” Detective Blundell said.

Some teens have more than one mobile phone and more than one Facebook account – they may have one Facebook account that their parents can access and monitor, and another secret Facebook account exclusively for their online ‘friends’.

“We are certainly seeing more occurrences of sexting – however, we know that teenage victims are often reluctant to report this crime,” Detective Blundell said.

“Instances have occurred where police, in the process of identifying the owner of lost property, have found these images on mobile phones and charges have been laid.”

In response to issue, collaborative learning approach between teens, parents, schools and SAPOL is taking place across the state. SAPOL works with local schools to provide workshops and presentation using lesson plans and other resources designed by ACMA through the cybersmart website – http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/