A USA study finds an apparent link between hyper-texting teens (120+ texts a day) and sexual activity, alcohol and drugs;
The study concludes that a significant number of teens are very susceptible to peer pressure and also have permissive or absent parents, said Dr Scott Frank, the study’s lead author.
“If parents are monitoring their kids’ texting and social networking, they’re probably monitoring other activities as well,”
The question remains as to the culture of the parents, church and community in which the teens are living. What is the culture that a community enjoys and feeds on? I suggest it is highly sexualised. See, Hypersexualisation: dolls dollars dissent? Is it surprising that teens are mirroring these values?
Theage.com.au reports on the case of a prosecutor pursuing first sexting conviction involving a naked 13 old. Read the article here. Also from the article,
Dr Michael Carr-Greg explains how ‘sexting’ has become a part of everyday social life for Australia teens, with many unaware of the consequences. You can view his brief video here.
In Australia are we so addicted to a sexualised and materialistic world that we are not providing the living values and their monitoring that nurture true relationships? In a culture which values true relationships, would hyper-texting value the good and nurture friends, family and community or would it not exist at all?
In the meantime, here is the USA report, Sex, drugs common in hyper-texting teens. And in Australia, ‘Getting Real: challenging the sexualisation of girls’ and Sexting: one of those things you wish you didn’t know about.
