Where There is Harm in Teenage Sexting, Hasinoff's New Book Takes a Deeper Look

Published: Feb. 25, 2015

Assistant Professor of Communication, Amy Adele HasinoffSmartphones are now ubiquitous among teens, and everyone has heard stories of the crises that ensue when private images go viral—disrupting and damaging young lives. Sexual shaming used to take place in hallways, locker rooms, and on bathroom walls, but now technology has raised the stakes, sending lawmakers, school administrators, and parents scrambling for ways to deal with the issue of "sexting." In the furor, some very simple (but sometimes uncomfortable) truths get lost.

In an article in last October's Atlantic Monthly called Why Kids Sext, Amy Hasinoff, Assistant Professor of Communication, asserted that rather than being a gateway to sexual activity, "sexting is a form of sexual activity." As complex as the moral, ethical, and legal issues around sexting become, at the heart of the issue remains the simple fact that, no matter how uncomfortable it makes adults, underage people are sexually active. Now, more than ever, they are using mobile phones and the internet to explore and express their sexuality. In her new book Sexting Panic: Rethinking Criminalization, Privacy and Consent (University of Illinois Press, 2015) Hasinoff discusses how teenage sexting—sending sexually explicit images or text messages over digital devices and social media—is thought about, talked about, and regulated. The book analyzes the debate about sexting while recommending responses that are realistic and nuanced, rather than based on misplaced fears about deviance, sexuality, and digital media.

Hasinoff's book highlights the most concerning aspect of teenage sexting: the malicious distribution of private images. For lawmakers especially, Hasinoff argues that a greater distinction needs to be made between consensual sexting—which according to a range of studies as much as 30% of teens are participating in—and the less common malicious acts of privacy violation that result when those images are shared and distributed in unintended ways. "While it may be appealing to advise girls to simply abstain from sexting in order to protect themselves, ending the discussion there obscures the harm of privacy violations," says Hasinoff. "I suggest adopting the standard that explicit consent should be required for the circulation of private images and information. The idea is that you would always need permission from someone before you distribute a private image of that person. This could result in radically different responses to sexting and have profound implications for social media polices."

In Sexting Panic, Hasinoff illustrates that anxieties about technology and teenage sexuality distract from critical questions about how to adapt norms of privacy and consent for new media, which are needed to keep teens safe from victimization. Her research finds that criminalization and abstinence policies meant to curb sexting often fail to account for the distinction between consensual sharing and the malicious distribution of a private image. Existing child pornography laws, along with newly written and enacted laws aimed specifically at curbing underage sexting, often blame victims and fail to differentiate consensual behaviors from harmful ones. Hasinoff cites an example of how consensual sexting and privacy violations can be viewed as equivalent under current laws with ruinous results: "Let's say you send a sext to a romantic partner, consensually, both of you are okay with it. Then you break up and the person you sent it to sends it out—both you and the partner could be charged under child pornography laws, even though common sense would dictate that your partner is the one doing something wrong. But in this scenario, if you're under the age of seventeen you could be charged with producing child pornography of yourself that you never meant to distribute."

During her research, Hasinoff explored the typical responses to teenage sexting from parents, teachers, politicians, and the legal system. Hasinoff found that legal and educational authorities often blame and even prosecute girls who sext, while paying little attention to people who maliciously distribute private images without permission. In her book, Hasinoff advises that consent is vital for the production, distribution, and possession of all private images and information.

Hasinoff proposes that sexting should be viewed as a form of media production—where it is the malicious distribution of private, sexual images that is harmful rather than the creation of the images. This model moves the conversation about youth and online sexuality beyond assertions that all forms of sexting are deviant criminal offenses to a more careful consideration of what teens do and do not consent to when they engage in digitally-mediated sexual practices. "By examining the problematic responses to sexting and offering alternative ways of thinking about this new social issue, I contend that scholars, educators, and policymakers need to reconsider taken-for-granted ideas about digital media and young women's sexuality," said Hasinoff.

Hasinoff challenges the idea that sexting inevitably victimizes young women and instead encourages society to recognize young people's capacity for choice and to rethink the assumption that everything digital is public. On her website, Hasinoff provides these and more "dos and don'ts" for parents and educators who want to talk to teenagers about sexting.

What not to say to teens about sexting:

  • Don't simply prohibit sexting - Around one-third of teens are going to sext even if they're told not to. We know abstinence-only sex ed has failed to reduce rates of unplanned pregnancy and STIs, so we can guess that abstinence-only sexting policies will fail, too.
  • Avoid the scare tactic of warning teens not to sext because all sexts will eventually be distributed - When teens hear the message that "all sexts will be distributed," many will tune out because that doesn't match up with their experience. Studies show that around 10 percent of private images are distributed without permission.
  • Don't tell teens whose private images have been distributed that their future job and college prospects are ruined and that their images are being viewed by child molesters - This creates unnecessary fear and shame. In cases in which images are distributed among peers without permission, they are very rarely ever uploaded to public websites.
  • Avoid telling girls that abstaining from sexting proves and preserves their self-respect and self-esteem – If images are distributed without permission, this perpetuates shaming and blaming the victim.

What to say to teens about sexting:

  • Teach young people to recognize and respect consent in themselves and others.
  • Talk about (and respect) teens' norms and expectations of privacy on the internet and mobile phones in different contexts. Focus on discouraging privacy violations.
  • Be a role model for the importance of digital privacy. Monitoring kids' texts (or reading their diaries) sends the wrong message that privacy violations are ok.
  • Discuss sexting's similarity to other sexual activities; talk about sexual ethics, consent, and respect between partners.
  • Discuss rape culture, shaming, homophobia, and the sexual double standard. Work with young people to collectively develop ongoing strategies to resist gender- and sexuality-based harassment and bullying.
  • Think about the potential legal consequences (to the victims and the perpetrators) before reporting sexting to law enforcement, though consider any applicable mandatory reporting laws or policies.

Contributions to this piece came from Emily Williams, Media Relations Specialist for the University of Colorado Denver.