Youtubers, should they have restrictions?

This is an extremely touchy issue because Youtube is all about user-generated content, but should popular Youtubers be responsible for what they say and do? Some vloggers today get millions of views on every single one of their videos and have as much reach as popular television shows. Does this mean that they should be held to those same standards? The internet is complicating things because of how accessible everything is and it's getting harder and harder to control what children or young adults view. It's already been shown in multiple studies and readings we've discussed in class that heavy exposure to media leads to greater media effects and an adoption of the views shown in said media. If a popular Youtuber has sexist views and people are able to watch their content as much as they please, then isn't it much more dangerous than any kind of television show or movie? I'm 100% for free speech and freedom of the internet, but should we hold these popular Youtubers to a different standard? They aren't normal people making movies in their basements anymore. They are actual superstars with massive a fanbase. It was even stated in the Dredge article that popular Youtubers have more influence than traditional film and music stars.

I went back and watched some of the Sam Peppers videos. It was an honest struggle to watch. He calls them pranks and social experiments, but most of the time it's just harassment. I went through the comment section of his latest video and debates are still going on about his sexual harassment and rape allegations. He has the trust and backing of millions of followers and they all still believe in him even though he's been proven to sexually assault girls. It's actually pretty sickening to read some of these hateful comments and people defending him saying things like everyone needs to get over what he did because he's funny and he posts good content. The law is often lagging behind technology, which is something I briefly discussed in my paper. I support freedom on the internet, but not when it is used to harass. And here's some great Sam Pepper content...

Sexting & Snapchat

The issue of sexting is very interesting to me.  After our class discussion on Damned if you do, damned if you don't...If you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States (Campbell & Lippman, 2014), I was reminded of a course I took last semester, titled "Social Consequences of Mobile Communication," we were given the opportunity to design a research project about any topic we thought was important.  This issue also had to have very little previous research done on it in the past.  We weren't instructed to actually execute this project, and in our project design, we were allowed to pretend we were given unlimited resources and funds in our research.  So, I formulated a research question about how Snapchat may be having an influence on sexting.  I looked into not only how Snapchat may be affecting sexting in a behavioral sense, but also in a stigma sense.  I want to know how the effects of Snapchat may be changing the negative rap surrounding sending and receiving sexts. Now this stigma may be unavoidable, as there have been legal repercussions for those who are underage who send a receive sexts.  However, I personally have taken up some issues with this stigma, as well as some sexting experts that I came across when doing my research.  And I believe that Snapchat may be working in sexting's favor.

One of the main concerns we discussed in class surrounds the idea of consensual sexting.  In this sense, an individual takes a picture or writes a sext and sends it to another person--a person who they intended to see this image. This becomes nonconsensual sexting when that image or text gets distributed to those the author did not intend to see.

Amy Adele Hasinoff (2012) also discusses this idea of consensual sexting in her article, Sexting as media production: Rethinking social media and sexuality.  She writes that many of today's stigma surrounding sexting may be more harmful than helpful when examining sexting.  She feels that consensual sexting may be more productively referred to as "media production," and that there may be some beneficial aspects of sexting that many researchers fail to recognize (Hasinoff, 2012).  She goes on to explain that sexting may be a new and important form of sexual and self expression (Hasinoff, 2012).

I agree with Hasinoff, and to expand on this idea, Snapchat may be a helpful turning point for this self-expression.  Many individuals feel as though their messages sent through Snapchat are safer and more secure due to the self-destructive nature of a Snapchat.  Ideally, this allows for sexting to be done in a secure and safe manner, encouraging and enabling consensual sexting.  Therefore, the stigma surrounding consensual sexting may be slowly but surely diminished.

Nonconsensual sexting seems as though it has an opposite effect as one may expect.  For example, if a girl sends a naked picture of herself to her boyfriend, this seems like an act of consensual sexting.  However, if they were to break up or fight, the boyfriend may show his friends. This could potentially harm the reputation of the girl, not the boy, who is going against his unspoken consensual contract.  However, if this couple were to have sexted via Snapchat, the boyfriend would not be able to show his friends this sext at a later date.

I have high hopes for the realm of sexting and culture will progress as our technology and communication abilities are changing everyday.




Works Cited:

Hasinoff, A. A. (2012). Sexting as media production: Rethinking social media and sexuality. New Media & Society, 15 (4) 449-465.

Campbell, S., Lippman, J. (2014). Damned if you do, damned if you don't...If you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 8 (4) 371-386.

Tips for Sexting: Progressive or Problematic?

When thinking about sexting, some argue that is it problematic, while others may argue that it’s progressive.  I have been split on the issue since we spoke about it in class, which also sparked me to look up sexting and its views.  While I was in the midst of Googling things about sexting, I came across this article by Cosmopolitan called “4 Tricks For Your Steamiest Sexts”.  Although this article can be see as controversial, with each one, I have tried to see a progressive/positive point, and also a problematic/negative point. 

1.     Paint a Snapchat with your Words:

In this “tip”, it suggests that a person shouldn’t necessarily jump the gun and send a “nudie pic” right off the bat, but rather, “paint a picture” to the receiving end; “get their mind and heart racing” by suggesting something in a text or snapchat.

Progressive point: It’s still sexy and it is confident without feeling pressured to send a fully nude photo. As Lippman & Campbell (2014) said, over half of all people that were in this study, sexted with a romantic or sexual context.  Because of this, it is a progressive idea to “sext” to someone who you plan to be romantic with/have already been romantic with.  More power to you!

Problematic: The more of these types of texts or photos a person sends, the more they may feel pressured to send more and more, being a little racier each time.  People should have to feel pressured, they should do it on their own time.

2.     Cut the Cutesy Emoji

In this “tip”, Cosmo says that by adding cutesy wink faces or emojis, it adds many different mixed signals, cut all of the cuteness out, and there won’t be any confusion about “am I texting my little cousin” or “does she think this is a joke?”

Progressive: Showing your sexy side.  If a person really is confident enough to send a sext and they cut the cuteness out, they will feel better about themselves, as well as their partner.

Problematic: If someone isn’t comfortable enough sexting, or in their own skin, then using emojis could lighten the mood and help them.  This tip might push people to feel more uncomfortable than needed.

3.     Let Your Freak Fantasy Fly

Cosmopolitan suggests that it is better to “picture who you’re sexting in their underwear” and be aggressive; say whatever you feel because it’ll turn into something great.

Progressive: It’ll help partners to be comfortable with one another and have jokes with each other, lightening the mood and sharing personal information with one another without feeling self-conscious about it.

Problematic: Telling someone to be more aggressive could again, push them in the wrong direction, telling them to do something they normally wouldn’t do otherwise.  This may also push someone to say something to someone they don’t necessarily fully trust yet.

4.     Figure Out Your Sext Goals

This “tip” tells the readers to make sure both parties know what the end result of sexting is.  There should be a clear idea of where the sexting is leading to.

Progressive: There are no blurred lines.  Are you meeting in person sometime soon?  Cool.  Are you strictly sexting buddies?  Also cool.  By stating what is expected, no one is mislead.

Problematic:  If two people find out that their goals aren’t in line, this could lead to rejection and hurt feelings. 

All in all, I believe there will always be mixed feelings about sexting.  However, what I think is important is that people need to see that with every tip and every sext, there are pros, cons, progressive points, and problematic points.  Just make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into with every sext you send!



Grant, D. (2014). "4 Tricks For Your Steamiest Sexts". Cosmopolitan Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/advice/a6941/sext-whisperer/


Lippman, J. & Campbell, S. (2014). "Damned if you do, damned if you don't". Journal of Children and Media. 8: 4. 371-386.

Rape Culture in Music Festivals?

I recently read an article on Vice.com which focused on the sexual harassment received by women who attend music festivals.  The author was prompted to write this article after a coworker attended Cochella 2015 in California and snapped a photo of a man grinning while wearing a  t-shirt titled “Eat. Sleep. Rape. Repeat”.  The extremely inappropriate shirt is an ill-fated pun on the phrase “ Eat. Sleep. Rave. Repeat”. The phrase, was first coined in a song by Fatboy Slim, Riva Starr and Beardyman called “Eat. Sleep. Rave. Repeat” and has quickly become synonymous with rave culture. If one were to go to any festival around the nation, you would probably see someone wearing a shirt with that phrase. However, by changing one letter in the expression, the shirt quickly become an uncomfortable eyesore.

As the author points out and I agree, free speech should not necessarily limit rape jokes, but there is a time and place for everything. Music festivals, a  place where people are intoxicated, dancing and possibly under the influence of illicit drugs is most definitely not one of those places. It’s like yelling fire in a movie theater, you just don’t do it. I was curious about why the individual felt that wearing that shirt was acceptable. This point connects to one of the readings discussed earlier in the semester about acceptance of sexual harassment. Researchers found that when participants were exposed to promiscuous and non-promiscuous views of women, the participants attributed greater responsibility onto promiscuous women ( Ferguson et. at., 2005). Participants also perceived that promiscuous women suffered less trauma than non-promiscuous women when exposed to verbal and comment sexual harassment ( Ferguson et. al., 2005). If you have attended a large music festival, especially an electronic-dance music fest, you will notice that many women wear interesting costumes, usually scantily clad. Is it possible that this exposure, could lead men to classify women as promiscuous and thus view women at these festivals as deserving of sexual harassment?

Ferguson, T., Berlin, J., Noles, E., Johnson, J., Reed, W., & Spicer, C. V. (2005). Variation in the application of the 'promiscuous female' stereotype and the nature of the application domain: Influences on sexual harassment judgments after exposure to the Jerry Springer Show. Sex Roles, 52(7-8), 477-487. doi: 10.1007/s11199-005- 3713-y

Lhooq, M. (2015, April 13). What the "Eat sleep rape repeat" shirt at coachella says about rape culture at music festivals | Thump. http://thump.vice.com/en_us/article/what-the-eat-sleep-rape-repeat-shirt-at-coachella-says-about-rape-culture-at-music-festivals

When is it art and when is it porn?

I'm a design student here at Michigan, so I spend a lot of time at the art school. Recently, there were a series of sexually suggestive paintings hung up in the school as part of the senior thesis show. I didn't think anything of it at first, because the school is no stranger to sexually explicit work—I've witnessed a giant 2-dimensional painted vagina (complete with fake fur glued on) and an installation with a wall of vaginas made out of clay. It did make me think, however, of our recent discussion on pornography. When is something art, and when is it porn? Is it important to even make a distinction?

Of course, the porn we've looked at has been in relation to media such television and the Internet. Fine art such as painting and photography may not be as widely viewed as online pornography videos so effects of exposure aren't as much of a consideration, but there's always the argument that a video like this isn't porn, it's "art" (and therefore assumed to be elevated above judgement). There's definitely an attitude that art is okay...but porn is not.

As we read in the Peter & Valkenburg article (and as has been pointed out by many researchers), pornography as a term is both "polarizing" and "emotionally loaded". In many ways, it is understood to be a negative and shameful thing, especially for women. It's defined as sexually explicit material intended to arouse the viewer. So perhaps the difference between "porn" and "art" is the intent... and that's where the line gets blurred.

I came across the story of Leena McCall's "Portrait of Ms Ruby May, Standing" from 2014 while researching how to further define the difference between porn and art. This painting was removed from a London gallery because it was allegedly "disgusting" and "pornographic". The official statement was that the gallery "has a responsibility to its trustees and to the children and vulnerable adults who use its galleries". The painting was removed after several complaints were made. The painting in question was replaced with a "less provocative nude", one where the female model was less sexually aggressive in her stance, with a more passive gaze.

Fine art and painting has a long-standing tradition of nude portraiture. In fact, art students at Michigan are required to do nude figure drawings as part of the introduction drawing class. The arts are not a place where people are shy about the human body. So what's especially interesting and telling to me about this entire story is that in a world where nude figures are so common and accepted, this one particular painting of a sexually forward woman is deemed to be porn, and thus inappropriate for a gallery.

This whole story gets more ridiculous when you consider that the painting was meant to depict "how woman choose to express their sexual identity beyond the male gaze". Oh, and the work was "removed from an all-female exhibition, curated by a woman".

To me, this is essentially just another example of how stigmatized porn and sexually explicit material is for women to create and view. If a woman is fully in control and not ashamed of her sexuality (whether through depictions of her or even just by watching porn), she becomes censored and/or judged. Women are only allowed to be sexual in the presence of men, or for the enjoyment of men.

I'm not sure where my final standing on art vs porn is, but it's clear to me that what we've learned this semester about the the role of men vs. women when it comes to sexual norms and expectancies run deep. These are thoroughly embedded into our media, our culture, and even our attitudes and beliefs.



References:

Peter, J. & Valkenburg, P.M. (2010). Process underlying the effects of adolescents' use of sexually explicit internet material: The role of perceived realism. Communication Research, 37(3), 375-399.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jul/07/painting-pornographic-pubic-hair-outrage

I'm Concerned for my Future Children...

I remember seeing this commercial aired again and again a couple of years ago, and I really have a problem with how sexual this commercial is. While parents must shield their young children from the sexual messages and images that most prime time television shows provide, now they have to shield their children from commercials that air all day, which is quite impossible. 

We already know that "the media—and television in particular—have received substantial attention as potentially important sources of information about sex" (Fisher et al., 2009).  If  a young child was watching this ad, he or she now learns that a male's pelvic region is something that all women desire and that a man is clearly dominant in a relationship and can do what he wants sexually with a women, or as in this scene, the man can freely start taking off the woman's swimsuit bottoms.  So, a younger child who hasn't been exposed to sex on television now learns that sexual encounters involve a man and woman's "private parts." 

As a young child, my parents often engaged in restrictive mediation when it came to sexual content in shows, so I never was allowed to watch TV shows that were highly sexual. However, now its harder than ever to restrict children from watching sexual TV shows because sexual content, cough cough HIGHLY sexual content, are prevalent in commercials that air all day long. 

Now as we've discussed, "according to social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986, 2001), individuals will imitate the behavior of others, including media models, when those behaviors are rewarded" (Fisher et al., 2009). While we've discussed that teens are often the primary age group imitating sexual behavior they see on television, I'd argue we have to worry about an even younger age group imitating sexual behavior they see due to commercials such as this one. In imagining myself as a mom, a long long long time from now, it would be nice to engage in restrictive mediation when it comes to sexual television programs, but how am I to shield my future children from sexualized commercials? As a future mother, I would be concerned that these commercials would implant these sexual messages into my children's brains earlier, and as a consequence they might engage in imitating sexual behavior earlier than their adolescent years, yikes!

 I'd also like to point out the fact that these sexual advertisements are often associated with luxury fashion brands. So does this mean that those who are wealthier have more sex because they're "fabulous?" Or does buying these luxury brands cause a person to become sexier and more desirable to the opposite sex? I think this association would be very interesting to study because when I see these overly sexual print ads, they are often for a luxury brand.

So, in my opinion it's close to impossible to shield children from sexual content in today's world, making this idea of restrictive mediation almost obsolete in this day and age.

Work Cited

Fisher, D. A., Hill, D. L., Grube, J. W., Bersamin, M. M., Walker, S., & Gruber, E. L. (2009). Televised sexual content and parental mediation: Influences on adolescent sexuality. Media Psychology, 12(2), 121-147. doi: 10.1080/15213260902849901

Music and Sexting

Turn on any teen drama on the television and there is almost guarunteed to be a storyline about a girl experiencing negative consequences from sexting. Whereas television seems to warn young adults of the dangers of texting, much of the music made in the last few years actualy seems to glorify sexting. 

Let's take a look.

"Text" by Jason Derulo

Hit me with a text, let me know you're home alone

Freaky with that camera phone

Hit me with a text, got you on my favorite ringtone,

baby that's your favorite song

Hit me with a text, it can go long,

text me and I'll be around

Hit me with a....text! 

On the down low, nobody will have to know

This song seems to show the postitive consequences of sexting--the narrator of the song treats his girl well by setting their favorite song as her ringtone and promising that he will be around. He stresses nobody will have to know. He goes on to talk about all the things his girl does that he loves--including sending him pictures and "getting freaky" before breakfast. This song sees to endorse the message that men will show girls attention and commit to them if they particpate in sexting. 

LOL :-) by Trey Songz

She said, "LOL boy you crazy, come on"

Then she said, "acutally you ain't gotta ask me"

Sent that little face with the tongue cuz I'm nasty

I'm on my way (way), girl I can't wait (wait)

Twitter me a picture, let me see that OK

This song shows the boy's excitement and urgency to see the girl whom he is texting after she starts to participate in the sexual conversation. He is driving over to presumably have sex with her, but wants her to send him a picture while he's on his way. 

"Sexting" by Ludacris

Nexxt thing I know is that I got a text from a freaky Latina saying is that you I see

Is that you Papi

So I bbm'ed appreviate before the night gets too late

Let me hit you with that Q&A

Can I tap that a** tta

She replied it all depends

It's me plus one can I bring my friends

And all I can think is it's a shame

That I ain't learned a damn thing

In this song by Ludacris, the narrator of the song gets caught with dirty pics on his phone by his girlfriend and continues to sext even after getting caught, to which the girlfriend keeps saying "You ain't learned a damn thing." In the end, the male is rewarded by his cheating and sexting ways by having a "threesome" with two girls, instead of just his girlfriend--to which he jokes around by saying "I ain't learned a damn thing."

In all three of these songs, sexting is glorified and has positive consequences for both the males and females involved. For girls, it can be seen as a tool of power to get boys to drop what they're doing and come over for a sexual encounter. For boys, it is portrayed as desirable to have girls sexting you and embodies being a manly, powerful, cool man. The gender norms for sexting portrayed in music supports reseasrch conducted about the nature of sexting. (Lippman & Campbell, 2014). This poses a problem for young adults and children listening to this mainstream music, as they have limited sexual and relationship experience to help them make sense of the song lyrics. Although this is a difficult issue to tackle because of the easy access to music and minimal explicit content laws, it is important to educate the youth of America about sexting to help give them more information and context when listening to this music. 

Works Cited:

Lippman, J. & Campbell, S. 2014. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." Journal of Children and Media. 8:4. 371-386.

Reflecting on Children's Sexuality Development aka "Weird...How Did I Not Notice Before?"

I'm quite aware that I watch a lot of Buzzfeed videos. Like a lot.

But something that has been really interesting to watch recently is this video that Buzzfeed posted titled "Men Who Sparked Your Sexual Awakening". 

Now, when I first watched this video, it really confused me because I never thought that animals in Disney movies could be sexually attractive. Simba, or Robin Hood (fox ver.) never really communicated sexual attractiveness to me, but thinking back on it, I definitely remember being really happy to pair Simba with Nala and strangely even Beast from Beauty and the Beast seemed natural as a kid. Looking back, sexual development in children is so interesting because it's weird to think that as children, we were all sexually developing and we weren't even aware of what was going on. But in this Buzzfeed video, adults can look back and are able to pin point aspects about Disney characters (whether they were real or fictional) that made them sexually interested without them really realizing it at the time. And whether or not they are aware of it, these portrayals of men in children's movies or boy bands show young girls what type of guys they should find attractive. This goes back to the idea that young children learn about sexuality through their social surroundings and by observing a role model (Bukowski & Drury, 2013). 

What's really interesting is that some things are not exactly supported in our societal norms (such as Beauty and the Beast) and yet to a kid, there's no problem in accepting that. I loved watching Disney movies but when I looked back and watched them again, I realized that there were a lot of sexual references or gender dynamics that children simultaneously accept and yet aren't really aware of. One of my favorite things to watch in high school was this YouTube series called "Advice from a Cartoon Princess". 

This video, which is about The Little Mermaid, points out so many messed up concepts such as changing your body for someone you love, or stealing objects from people. While kids might not be overtly conscious of these concepts, the impact that it has on their sexuality is definitely there. As a kid watching The Little Mermaid, I used to think that a woman that didn't talk was what made Ariel the most attractive. It was as if because Ariel didn't have her voice, Eric found her mysterious and beautiful. It was a strange concept that I had soaked up subconsciously until I watched the movie later in high school and realized how much I disliked Ariel. But as a kid, you don't realize those things and you almost think that's what you have to do to get someone to love you. Which is a dangerous mentality to have. 

Which is why I actually think it's good for parents to mediate films with their kids. As a kid whose mom loved watching movies, I always thought it was so annoying for my mom to ask me and my brother why we loved Toy Story. We always had to discuss it after watching and try to get "the big lesson" that it communicated. Despite it being annoying, it helped me to see that media can have deeper meanings to it if you go looking for it. 

As much as I do think kids should be independent in consuming their media and discovering what they like, I also think it's really important for children to have adult supervision. It's crazy to think about it, but parent's really have an influence on their kids. Because according to Social Cognitive Theory, if their looking for information and a role model, they're most likely going to go to their parents for answers and guidance. Recently, as I was discussing Disney movies with my roommate, I discovered that she grew up watching Lion King 2 first instead of The Lion King because her dad got the wrong version on VHS. So when she watched The Lion King, she thought it was the prequel instead of the original. Even as she was explaining this to me, she called it "Lion King 1". It's crazy to think that ONE parenting mishap can result in a kid being REALLY confused about a culturally impactful movie for a long time. And maybe that's why it's important to start talking about these things with kids early on, rather than later. Who knows, they might be able to critically think about some of the weird stuff that's on kids shows these days. 

Resources

Bukowski, W. M., Drury, K. M. (2013). Handbook of child and adolescent sexuality. Academic Press.

Dating in the Age of the Sext

In the early days, there was AIM. AIM could be used as a way to connect to your friends after school, but it could also be a place to meet strangers in random chatrooms. This quality in particular served as the catalyst for many, many terrible after school specials about meeting strangers online. There were real dangers with these chatrooms, but there also were relationships that were fostered, both platonic and romantic.

AIM has of course fallen out of style (and possibly existence?), but newer forms of the same concept exist in some shape or form. Recent studies seems to indicate that some 50% have dated someone they meet online, maybe a third of which end in marriage. And the numbers seem to be growing. Online dating websites such as eHarmony, OkCupid, and PlentyofFish have thousands of members. Apps like Tinder and Grindr serve as popular methods to connect to someone as easily as a swipe to the right.

For some people, this new way of 'meeting' without actually meeting face-to-face is seen as something of a positive. I have many friends who use Tinder because meeting guys at a bar is sort of problematic. Guys at bars can be troublesome, or, in some cases, actually threatening. For these girls, it's much easier to meet a guy through Tinder, get to know him, and then actually meet at a time when they feel comfortable.

But sometime, it isn't better. Sometimes it's actually worse. It's become increasingly noticeable that some guys, prominently straight men, but not exclusively, mostly use apps like Tinder as a method to sexually harass people. This odd phenomenon seems to be so common, that it has spawned numerous sites dedicated to cataloging these creepy, albeit funny, messages.

For some odd reason, there seems to be a method. Start out a conversation normally, then bring in a ludicrous, offensive, and rude comment. This comment is sometimes accompanied by an 'lol' as if this addition would make the text less...serious? easier to explain as a joke? the logic eludes me. In Lippman and Campbell's study examining the nature of sexting amongst adolescents, they found that girls must often face the constricting binary of either being labeled a slut or a prude for or for not exchanging sexts with boys (2014). A similar effect seems to have carried over to the internet dating world as we see repeat examples of something like this: 

Reference:
Lippman, J. & Campbell, S. (2014). "Damned if you do, damned if you don't...if you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States. Journal of Children and Media, 8(4), 371-385.

Consensual Sexting or Nah?

In class last week we talked about the difference between consensual and nonconsensual sexting amongst individuals. I thought that was interesting. If a sext is sent, isn't it usually consensual? Then we brought up the point that a sext is typically consensual between the sender and the receiver of the sext, but when it extends further than that, it is more than likely considered nonconsensual. Where is the line drawn between consensual and nonconsensual sexting?

I read a listicle the other day titled "11 Facts about Sexting," which contained some interesting information about sexting and the youth. For one, it said that nearly 70% of teen relationships experiment with sexting, but "61% of all sexters who have sent nude images admit that they were pressured to do it at least once" (11 Facts about Sexting, 2015). In addition, "15% of teens who have sent or posted nude/semi-nude images of themselves send these messages to people they have never met, but know from the Internet (11 Facts about Sexting, 2015). Those are some heavy statistics, but it further complicates the idea of consensual vs. nonconsensual sexting. If consensual sexting is usually between two people in a relationship, why do 61% feel pressured at sometime to send that sext? Does that make it nonconsensual?

In the article, "Damned if you Do, Damned if you Don't ... If You're a Girl: Relational and Normative Contexts of Adolescent Sexting in the United States," they say that "sexts are often redistributed without the permission or knowledge of the original sender" (Lippman & Campbell, 2014). When adolescents don't completely understand the severity of sending sexts, things are likely to get out of hand and become nonconsensual. I understand that it is a way to explore and express sexuality if an individual has not done so before, but it is necessary to be careful. I have heard of multiple instances where consensual nude or partially nude pictures turned to nonconsensual sexts sent around a middle school or high school, when the original intention was for the photo to be private between two people.

I've talked a lot about the risks of sexting, but I am actually an advocate of consensual sexting when you can fully understand the ramifications and consequences if it goes wrong. If you are in a committed relationship and you trust the other person, consensual sexting is not weird. It is a way to be proud of your body and own who you are. It's a way of expressing sexuality in a space that feels safe. Also, it is a way to still feel sexually close to someone, especially if you are in a long-distance relationship.

People's opinions on sexting can vary, but I think as people mature and understand the possible consequences of sending something as permanent as a sext, it becomes more acceptable. Especially if it is with someone you trust.

References:

Lippman, J., Campbell, S. (2014) Damned if you do, damned if you don't... If you're a girl: Relational and normative contexts of adolescent sexting in the United States.Journal of Children and Media, 8 (4) 371-386.

11 Facts about Sexting. (2015). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-sexting

Selfie For Social Change

I recently received an email from a sorority member regarding a campaign she is working for.  She is collaborating with med students at the University of Michigan to work on a non-profit called Mankon Forum Scholarship Initiative.  This is a group that is designed to raise funds to give full scholarships to hard-working, dedicated students in rural Cameroon so that they can attend the required five years of high school.  Many of the students in this area are often forced to drop out of school and work in the fields to supply for themselves.  They are launching this campaign with an “educational selfie” video, which they hope to go viral in order to raise awareness and boost their social media presence.   The “educational selfie” video requirements ask one simple question: “what does education mean to you?”

This email of course reminded me of our guest speaker regarding the selfie phenomenon and the reading, How selfies became a global phenomenon.  In our class discussion, we focused a lot on the issue of what taking and posting selfies to social media says about an individual.  In this arena, we talked about those who take and post selfies are more likely to have greater levels of self-confidence and security.  In our class discussion, it was briefly touched upon that those who take and post selfies are sometimes seen as vain or conceded.

This campaign, however, got me thinking about some of the other potential implications of posting selfies.  In this campaign, the purpose is to raise awareness about an issue through the use of selfies.  The implications of taking and posting selfies are now changing, in my opinion, and potentially for the better.  If one were to post a video to his or her Facebook or Instagram about the importance of education, it seems unlikely that someone would title this person as “vain.”  Also, this sparked an idea that perhaps selifes have become so embedded in today’s social media use that those who don’t post selfies are becoming the minority.  If these campaigners are confident in their “educational selfie” idea, they must be fairly confident that this idea is going to work and go viral.  They must believe that the majority of people will feel comfortable and excited about posting a selfie video.

This idea is obviously reminiscent of the “Ice Bucket Challenge” videos that went viral months ago.  Millions of people did not mind posting videos soaking wet, so the selfie video seems like a logical next step.  

In my opinion, this campaign idea is a brilliant one, in the sense that because selfies have become so widely accepted and normalized, people will be excited about raising awareness about important issues in this new way.  This campaign also speaks to the stigmas surrounding selfies diminishing, and that those who take selfies could potentially now be viewed as empowered and socially active.

Works Cited:

Day, E. (2013). How selfies became a global phenomenon. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/14/how-selfies-became-a-global-phenomenon

The Internet as a Sexual Educator

For my paper, I wrote about using entertainment media as a form of sex education for adolescents and young teens. I was particularly interested in taking a look at the Internet, but unfortunately there isn't that much research published on its role in sex ed. Luckily, this seemed like a great topic for a blog post.

The Internet provides a huge resource for young people trying to learn more about sexual health and sexual development. As mentioned in the Brown article, 44% of adolescents reported using the Internet to find this kind of information in 2003. The Internet is a great resource in its anonymity, vast database of knowledge, and ability to connect individuals to other people going through similar developmental stages. Brown points out two main problems with teens using the Internet as a sexual health resource in 1. the potential of website to convey inaccurate information, and 2. the potential that teens will use the Internet to replace their parents or other people in their lives as sources of information.

I definitely agree that there's always the potential that the Internet will provide false information, but I personally believe that most teens/young adults (an age group that at this point in their lives has basically grown up with the Internet) are more than capable of evaluating the quality of what they're reading online. The second problem also seems like an unlikely side effect, as parents can still communicate what they need to about sex education to their kids regardless of the Internet as a resource. In fact, the Internet could be a great resource for parents to use when talking to their kids about sex. 

Let's face it, traditional sex education is simply not useful for most people. A lot of the research I found for my paper suggests that this kind of education is ineffective for two main reasons. First, adolescents simply don't find factual information about STIs and scientific terms describing body parts to be relevant to their lives. Second, schools and teachers often talk about sex in extremely negative ways, emphasizing the risk factors and negative consequences. This goes completely against how most young people experience sex, which for most people is a relatively positive thing. 

In addition, sex ed isn't even being held to a high standard in the US. I found these fascinating charts on the state of sex education, and it's kind of disturbing.

Abstinence only education has not been proved to reduce rates of teen pregnancy or STIs at all, and it's preposterous that certain states aren't required to provide medically accurate information to their students. Here's where the Internet could play a really key role in the sexual development of young people. 

First, the Internet is a resource that doesn't come from the school or the government (at least, not overtly). This could make students more favorable towards the information they're getting, especially if it seems like it's written by people who really get what they're going through. Second, the Internet can tell young people what they actually want to know about sex and relationships, rather than forcing them to sit through classes filled with irrelevant scientific information. Finally, many of these sites allow users to communicate with other people going through similar problems, allowing young people to understand their development is entirely normal.

When we took a look at sex education websites in class earlier this semester, my partner and I analyzed MTV's "It's Your Sex Life" (itsyoursexlife.com). This is a great resource for adolescents because of its focus on sexual health information such as STI testing and pregnancy as well as relationships, intimacy, and lgbt knowledge. It's an attractive, well-designed site that uses Internet appropriate language to relate to its audience and provides lists of phone numbers/hotlines, FAQs, and interviews with relevant resources. It also has pages addressing "am I ready to have sex?", "dating", and "hooking up", which are huge components of a young person's sexual development but are rarely addressed by formal sex education. This is a good example of new media that has so many benefits for its users, and we as a society really start to take advantage of resources like this.

I believe there's extremely great potential for the Internet to become an essential tool for providing relevant and accurate information to adolescents. The Internet wouldn't take over the role of an educator or a parent, but it provides non-judgmental knowledge about things that are useful and relevant. It could easily be used in conjunction with school sex ed and can be a great conversation opener for parents to talk to their kids about healthy sexual behavior and facilitate healthy sexual development.

Reading:

Brown, J.D., Keller, S., & Stern, S. (2009). Sex, sexuality, sexting, and sexed: Adolescents and the media. The Prevention Researcher, 16(4), 12-16.