Teenage "sexters" equal to sexual predators?

"Sexting," or sending sexually explicit messages via cell phones, has been included in child pornography and sex offender laws, though many lawmakers are rethinking this lack of distinction. Teenagers who have taken and distributed nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves have been tried as sexual predators, a title they must carry with them for decades. Some have also been charged with distribution of child pornography, including girls who past scandalous pictures of themselves on their MySpace profiles.

Two insanely extreme cases like this occurred in Pennsylvania and New York within the last year. Both cases involved junior high school-aged children, one of whom was directly responsible for the distribution of the content and some who were merely innocent bystanders. (Innocent being the key word here--the case of the Pennsylvania girls hardly seems as scandalous and borderline pornographic as the prosecutors made it out to be.)

Riva Richmond writes in the New York Times' Gadgetwise blog:

According to a recent study commissioned by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 20 percent of teenagers have taken nude or semi-nude pictures or videos of themselves and sent them to someone or posted them online. Most send these gifts to their boyfriend or girlfriend (69 percent) or someone they want to date or hook up with (30 percent).

While not a very smart practice, sexting is not as dangerous and criminal as the current laws and aforementioned cases make it seem. Such cases illustrate the need for reevaluated laws and a change to the current system. As a result, 14 states are considering legislation, according to the New York Times article. Of those states, some would make sexting a misdemeanor, while others would classify it as a juvenile offense.

In Nebraska, the new law "gives pass to children under 18 who send out their own photograph to a willing recipient who is at least 15," according the Times article. However, under the same law, a teen who passes the picture along to friends could face a felony child pornography charge and five years in prison.

Overall, I agree that the laws need to be reexamined and changed to fit the times. Consequently, I also believe that teenagers in the digital age need to understand that their actions are no longer fleeting. Their stupid mistakes can now be permanently documented and haunt them for years to come. All it takes is one person to post the photo on the Internet for all the world to see. However, I think carrying around the label of "sex offender" for the rest of one's life or serving jail time are unproportionately large consequences for the errors of one's youth. This could be something to follow for the rest of the semester as more cases unfold and more states change current legislation.