The Pros And Cons Of Teen Sexting

Teen sexting has been a controversy for years, due to its legal connection to child porn. The two terms have separate definitions, but can overlap depending on the age of the person sending or keeping the message. The definition of child pornography states that any sexually-explicit picture or message of a minor, consensually given or otherwise, will always be child porn and is subject to a criminal charge. This leaves consensually sexting adolescents in a bit of a bad place. They are at risk of being sent to prison or sex-offender registration for willingly participating in an activity with no intent to cause harm. Is this fair? Should every suggestive photo of a minor be considered malicious and predatory, even if the teenager distributing the photo themselves? Sexting between minors should not be considered a crime …show more content…
The criminal penalties for teen sexting are too severe of an impact for adolescents who sext. Since sexting laws are derived from child porn laws, they have very similar penalties. Minors are being charged as adults such as the North Carolina teen sexting case with Cormega Copening and Brianna Denson. Where if Copening and Denson did not plead guilty to a lesser charge, they would have had to spend about ten years in jail and register as a sex offender for life (Matharu). As a result of these potential charges, it hinders the adolescent’s future by affecting common reputation and carries harsher consequences, such as exclusion from jobs or housing, harassment,