The wonderful thing about going to school is that, believe it or not, you do learn things. Now, whether you expect to learn something about a particular topic is another story. Take for instance my recent experience from a general ed mass communications class where we were asked if we knew what “sexting” was.
I promptly responded by saying “phone sex through text messages?”
Wrong! It was something a bit more malicious than that as it turns out.
CNN recently featured a story on “sexting,” which according to their article is when someone sends “nude or seminude pictures” via text messages. It is a “fast-growing trend among teens” according to CNN.
Now before anyone out there starts fantasizing about the things they could have done in high school had they owned a camera phone at the time, stop to think of the possible repercussions – something 18-year-old Philip Alpert didn’t do when he sent a nude photo of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend to a handful of friends and family following the break-up.
After the incident, Orlando police arrested Alpert and charged him for sending child pornography. Should there be no changes to the law, Alpert now also has to register each year as a sex offender, hardly a slap on the wrist for an impulsive and immature act.
But does he deserve such a harsh punishment? HLN’s Mike Galanos doesn’t think so, stating that “we need to change our laws to catch up with technology,” and adding “these young people shouldn’t pay for this for the rest of their lives.”
Part of the issue here is determining who carries the burden of responsibility, and whether this falls on the shoulders of an 18-year-old is debatable. I remember what it’s like to be an 18-year-old, and I can honestly say that most people out there would not have considered me a mature adult. The fact that I looked like I was 14 at the time probably didn’t help, but that’s a story for another time. What does need to be addressed is not only the courts’ interpretations of the law, but also their interpretation of what it is to be an adult.
April 8, 2009...2:12 pm
Old enough to text, old enough for jail
The wonderful thing about going to school is that, believe it or not, you do learn things. Now, whether you expect to learn something about a particular topic is another story. Take for instance my recent experience from a general ed mass communications class where we were asked if we knew what “sexting” was.
I promptly responded by saying “phone sex through text messages?”
Wrong! It was something a bit more malicious than that as it turns out.
CNN recently featured a story on “sexting,” which according to their article is when someone sends “nude or seminude pictures” via text messages. It is a “fast-growing trend among teens” according to CNN.
Now before anyone out there starts fantasizing about the things they could have done in high school had they owned a camera phone at the time, stop to think of the possible repercussions – something 18-year-old Philip Alpert didn’t do when he sent a nude photo of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend to a handful of friends and family following the break-up.
After the incident, Orlando police arrested Alpert and charged him for sending child pornography. Should there be no changes to the law, Alpert now also has to register each year as a sex offender, hardly a slap on the wrist for an impulsive and immature act.
But does he deserve such a harsh punishment? HLN’s Mike Galanos doesn’t think so, stating that “we need to change our laws to catch up with technology,” and adding “these young people shouldn’t pay for this for the rest of their lives.”
Part of the issue here is determining who carries the burden of responsibility, and whether this falls on the shoulders of an 18-year-old is debatable. I remember what it’s like to be an 18-year-old, and I can honestly say that most people out there would not have considered me a mature adult. The fact that I looked like I was 14 at the time probably didn’t help, but that’s a story for another time. What does need to be addressed is not only the courts’ interpretations of the law, but also their interpretation of what it is to be an adult.
The saying goes, “Old enough to fight, old enough to vote.”
But is it old enough for teens to really know what their moral obligations are?
–Harvey Rañola
Spartan Daily Staff Writer
Leave a Comment
Filed under Commentary
Tags: CNN, sex offenders, sexting, SJSU, Spartan Daily, statutory rape