Imagine your adolescent (under the age of 18) son or daughter being on one of the many social media sites/apps- Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Tinder, etc.
They send their girlfriend or boyfriend (also under 18) nude pictures of themselves.
They could be arrested on child pornography charges and required to register as a sex offender.
Pretty scary stuff.
In Arizona, if a juvenile is convicted of child pornography and required to register, the registration terminates at 25, if of course, there are no other charges prior to them reaching that age. It is still scary stuff and has lifelong impact.
How about your adolescent client? How about the child of one of your adult clients or couple? What do we as clinicians need to be addressing this issue and how do we address it?
If you know me, you know that I deal with things directly and respectfully. At least that is my goal and intention. There is no skirting the issue or being vague and indirect. I also know I have been lax in educating myself about these sites since I don’t utilize them and don’t work with adolescents and children. I do work with parents and grandparents, however.
It is my ethical and professional responsibility to be knowledgeable and address sexting and inappropriate use of the internet/social media sites with my clients. It is an important part of parenting now and will continue to be in the future.
Sexting is happening more and more, as we know, with not only adolescents, but tweens and even younger children. The access to social media sites/apps without appropriate adult supervision and discussion can have dire consequences. Just a couple of months ago, six teens were arrested in Passaic, New Jersey for running social media child pornography sites. They were between 12 and 16 years of age. http://patersontimes.com/2017/01/26/6-passaic-county-teenagers-arrested-for-running-social-media-child-pornography-sites/ This is serious business.
Below are some resources regarding registry law, statistics about sexting, and recent news regarding social media and pornographic images of minors.
Arizona Sex Offender Registry Law http://all4consolaws.org/lawsbystates/states/rsol%20arizona%20sex%20off%20reg%20req%20140407.pdf
Child Pornography and Selfies: What You Need to Know http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/child-pornography-and-selfies–what-you-need-to-know.html
Can Sex Offenders Be Barred From Social Media? Justices Lean Toward No Feb. 2017 http://www.npr.org/2017/02/27/517563127/can-sex-offenders-be-barred-from-social-media-justices-lean-toward-no
Sexting Concerns Raised After More Than 2,000 Children Reported To Police Sept. 2016 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sexting-nude-selfies-children-statistics-police-child-protection-nspcc-a7219501.html
More On Teen Sexting Statistics March 2015 http://blog.thirdparent.com/more-on-teen-sexting-statistics/ Sexting/
The Sad Statistics Feb. 2014 https://www.selfiecop.com/downloads/SelfieCop%20-%20Stats%20about%20sexting.pdf
Facebook Reports BBC to Police Over Investigation Into Child Sex Images March 2017 https://nyti.ms/2mqduHU
Revenge Porn Could Land Teens on Sex Offender Registry Feb. 2017 http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/local/revenge-porn-could-land-teens-on-sex-offender-registry/413658767
Child Sexual Abuse: Are Social Networks To Be Blamed? September 2016 http://www.information-age.com/child-sexual-abuse-social-networks-123462234/
Boy in Middle School Arrested For Demanding Nude Pics on Snapchat: NYPD May 2016 https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160519/gramercy/14-year-old-arrested-at-school-after-demanding-nude-pics-on-snapchat-nypd
Social Media Adds To Child Sexual Abuse Cases In Monterey County April 2016 http://www.thecalifornian.com/story/news/local/2016/04/20/social-media-child-sexual-sex-abuse-cases-monterey-county-facebook-snapchat/83307334/
Snapchat Can Cause Issues When Teens Send Nude Pictures March 2016 http://themash.com/blog/shine-2/2016/03/22/snapchat-can-cause-issues-teens-send-nude-pictures/
From sexting to sex offender status, lessons for teens on social media dangers Jan 2016 http://www.ketv.com/article/from-sexting-to-sex-offender-status-lessons-for-teens-on-social-media-dangers/7657642
Announcements
3 spaces left! Monthly consultation group 4th Monday of the month 945am 60 dollars per person per session Contact Adena at 520-404-8466
“The Child as Substitute Spouse: Naming and Validating Covert Emotional Incest” Presented by Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LISAC, BCETS, CP
Sierra Tucson Grand Rounds Friday,April 14, 2017 11:30 a.m.-1:00 pm www.sierratucson.com
“The Child as Substitute Spouse: Naming and Validating Covert Emotional Incest” Presented by Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, LISAC, BCETS, CP Friday, May 5th, 2017
75th Annual ASGPP 2017 Conference: “Navigating Waves of Change: Discovering and Celebrating Our Hidden Treasures.” Clearwater, Florida www.asgpp.org
Podcast interviews about Covert Emotional Incest with Guy McPherson, PhD, and Laura Reagan, LCSW-C available in April.
More interviews with Boom Goddess Radio in March and a big book launch interview with Rachel Grant, MA mid-June!
Ponder This:
Social media has given us this idea that we should all have a posse of friends when in reality, if we have one or two really good friends, we are lucky. -Brene Brown
I don’t live my life seeking validation from people on social media. -Ricki-Lee Coulter
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