Social Deviance
Journal Entry 2
Teen sexting is an issue within the justice system due to teens sending each other nudes of themselves and blackmailing others. It is common among teenagers to have sexual photos on their phones, whether those photos are of them or another individual. For investigators, it can be hard to distinguish if sexual photos are child pornography or sexting. The possession of a minor's nudes is classified as child pornography, despite the intent and how revealing the photo is. Over half of teens have reported that they have sexted and almost 3/4ths of the T.V. shows consumed by teenagers have sexual content. Sexting has come out of the sexualization of girls as males believe that the only way they can connect to females is through sexual content. Female children and teens are sexualized through media and are reacting to that; however, they are punished when they do so. Teenagers are not adults because they are still developing. This led to the development of a separate justice system that focused on rehabilitation. Teenagers who commit violent crimes can be taken out of the juvenile justice system and place into the adult justice system. leading them to be charged as an adult. Because teenagers are underdeveloped they are more likely to take risks. McLaughlin does not find it surprising that there are teenagers sexting considering that they are not developed enough to weigh the benefits and risks of sexting. Criminal and civil issues, such as Ferber, have led to the solution of forcing anyone convicted of sex crimes over the age of 14 years old to be registered as a sex offender. Teenagers sexting may be charged with child pornography and placed on the sex offender registry simply for sexting. despite both parties being willing. One of the common themes between criminal court cases is the right to privacy. Youths charged with pornography, specifically ones tried as adults, argue that the ability to own nude photographs of their significant other is legal and that the courts charging them is an invasion on their privacy because they received consent to video tape or record their significant other. McLaughlin states that the children involved in these cases were 16 or 17 years old and the pictures were not obscene. Only two of the cases involved sharing the pictures to other individuals. A high school senior sexted another minor with a photograph, leading to his arrest and charge as an adult. He was registered as a sex offender, despite the photograph being between him, a minor himself at the time, and a another minor. States have begun to pass legislation to protect minors, specifically ages 16 and 17 years old, from being charged with felonies while sexting. Teens arrested for these crimes are now being charged with misdemeanors instead of felonies and first-time offenders are being charged as a juvenile rather than as an adult depending on the state. Leary's approach ignores the fact that teenagers are not sending explicit videos