When I was in my second year in SHS, my friend confided that she’d been text messaging a guy in our class and one night when he asked her for a picture. She sent him one, then he sent her one of himself, and so on. As she told me the story, she showed me pictures of his face, his fully clothed body, his bare chest, and, finally, his penis.
Throughout her phone slideshow, she never showed or described the pictures she had sent him. But I immediately caught on. I don’t usually judge my friends, but I was disappointed that she would share those types of images with someone.
Sexting can result in public humiliation, like it had been happening of late in our various university campuses. Videos of people having sex or nude pictures had gone viral on social media whatsapp, facebook, etc.
Even if you’re not worried about getting in trouble, you should ask yourself why you’re sexting. We teens like competition. For some—probably guys more than girls—that means accumulating as many suggestive images as possible on your phone’s memory card. For others, it means showing you’re not afraid to do something daring. I think at least the girls who send “sexts” want to look like bad chicks; they think this will help them get or keep a boyfriend. It’s a competition for attention.
But even if sexting gets you attention from your peers, it’s for all the wrong reasons. At best, you’ll be acknowledged for your looks. I’d rather be acknowledged for deeper qualities.
Several times, guys have asked me for intimate pictures through text or instant message, but I’ve never sent them. My self-esteem is high enough to wave the boys’ demands away with a flick of my wrist. My friends and family make me feel loved, so I know I don’t have to do anything I’ll regret just to get a couple of eyeballs on me.
No teen should have to send sexts to feel good about himself or herself.
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