The+Dangers+of+Sexting

As texting began to upraise in our society, people started to use it for many different reasons. Teens began to not just text, but also sext! Sexting is just like texting, but instead of sending basic messages, teens are sending messages with sexual content in it. For example if someone is sending nude pictures, or texting someone with hopes of having sexual relations with that person later, it’s sexting! Urban Dictionary defines sexting as "The act of text messaging someone in the hopes of having an encounter with them; initially casual, transitioning into highly suggestive and even sexually explicit." According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 20% of teens have sent nude pictures of themselves. Although this is a low percentage of teens, sexting has become very alarming for many parents. This has become very alraming for the parent of Hope Witsell. While sexting your at risk of getting everything you say out to the public, including risqué photos. When sending risqué photos of yourself to your boyfriend or girlfriend, your trusting them not to show anyone else. However what happens if you break up? Are you still going to trust and hope those photos don’t get out? But what if you were never going out with the person and you were just trying to gain their attention, would you still trust them? Many teens are faced with this problem each day. If or when their photos get out the embarrassment and humiliation might even make them angry enough to kill. Thirteen year old, Hope Witsell attended middle school in Florida when her life ended. Trying to gain the attention of a boy in her class, Hope decided to send him a topless photo of herself. The boy, who was not interested in Hope, took this photo and showed all the other classmates, and everyone else in the school. Hope couldn’t take the embarrassment and bullying this photo caused her much longer, so one night she hung herself in her bedroom and died. Another story like this came up with eighteen year old Jesse Logan. Jesse killed herself after her ex-boyfriend showed nude pictures of Jesse. We see these stories coming up more frequently now.  