Sexting or the sharing of sexual images via a mobile phone is becoming increasingly common in India. This “phenomenon” has been  growing steadfastly in recent years because of the easy availability and low cost of ever faster smart phones. This coupled with the low cost of Internet for mobiles has become the catalyst for this particular problem.

Sexting is especially popular among teenager as they are much more tech savvy than any other demographic in the country and this problem is not only in India but also in the rest of the world as proven by this study done in Australia

The main reason for the emergence and the increasing frequency for sexting is peer pressure, which teenagers are most susceptible to. This need to be accepted among their friends and to be seen as “cool” clouds their better judgement.

This has been highlighted by the recent spate of scandoulous MMS’s and morphed photos involving school going youngsters, which has negatively impacted not only the victims involved but their families and our society in general. The victims have little legal recourse available to them and the stigma attached makes them unwilling to come forward and report these incidents.

This is where the government and the media need to play an important and active part in creating awareness and to discourage this activity, the government needs to enforce stricter laws and punishment for the perpetrators and put more resources in the cybercrime department as tracking the originators of morphed photos is very hard once they come into circulation. The media on the other hand needs to highlight this problem without sensationalizing it and protecting the victim’s identity.

Educating and informing the children in schools and by parents will also play an important role in reducing this problem because banning mobile phones is no longer an option in today’s day and age.

This is a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible as the implications of this behaviour can have an adverse impact on our youngsters long into the future.

Do leave your thoughts and comments below to let your fellow readers know what you think about this problem and how we can work together as a society to combat it.

Related posts:

1. Finally! Sex Education Gets Impetus In India // About time sex education took its rightful place in...
2. Empathy & Self Esteem Linked to Sexual Pleasure In Young Adults // In what is quite an enlightening study, it has...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.