AdaptiveMobile Blogs

Think teens sharing explicit photos of themselves with girlfriends or boyfriends is just “teens being teens?” Well, consider this- it’s also illegal: On May 20, 17-year-old Alex Phillips of LaCrosse, Wis., was charged with possessing child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child and defamation after he posted naked pictures of his 16-year old ex-girlfriend from his cell phone on to MySpace. At Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio, at least 30 students received the image of a teenager fondling himself when he sent a cell phone video to female classmates in April. In Pennsylvania, state police were dispatched to Allentown's Parkland High School in January to remove video and photos of two high school girls from the cell phones of at least 40 students. Closer to home, Thomas Hajzus, principal of Peters Township High School in Washington County, said three female students sent pornographic pictures last school year, and students in Penn Trafford High School said there are multiple porn images of teens circulating in cell phones throughout the district this year.

So for those who believe exercising parental controls on kids’ phones is an invasion of privacy, it is really time for a wake up call. Children- even teens- need to be guided, even when it comes to using the Internet or mobile phones. It isn’t about spying, it’s about protecting.