SEXT and the Single Student
In this age of technogoly, everyone can see you naked
Rebecca Bauman
Issue date: 9/3/09 Section: Opinion
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From cigar-smoking turn-of-the century poker players handling nudie-print cards to the office clown who Xeroxes, scans or Photobooths her bare tukus, it always seems that if something can sport the trace image of a private part, by God, it will.
These days we carry erotica, obscene images, titillating what-have-yous with us to class; I've heard tell of more than one student bringing up an adult site while clacking away on his computer in the back row of a lecture. And now, perhaps because more and more laptops are being banned from classrooms and because more and more folks are realizing that a grainy nekkid still of someone you know is far more interesting than a high-definition video of strangers, camera phones are stepping up as a new means for bootylicious entertainment.
Yes, I'm talking about "sexting."
Sexting, for those out of the loop, is the distribution of nude or semi-nude pics or video clips of lovers, friends, neighbors or acquaintances via text message. Everybody knows somebody who's "sexted." And I'd bet my bippy that everybody knows somebody who knows somebody who's regretted sending a "sext" message - regretted it with all the fury of a thousand horny bull elephant seals.
Because, you see, when you send nude pics of yourself to loved ones, you risk a breach of confidence. Of course, you could accidentally send your message to the wrong person in your phonebook (which I have done with both benign and embarrassingly private texts). But, also, in this fickle world of young adulthood, one cannot assume that today's bosom buddy won't be tomorrow's shameless enemy. On any given night, intoxicated or dead sober, you could be arming your future foe with the means to label you a "skank," the bearer of a "tiny penis" or a freak who's "covered in moles" - labels that could stick with you for the rest of your days on campus. Longer if you're looking to go into politics.
All joking aside, sexting can arguably bring tragic consequences. Eighteen-year-old Jessica Logan hanged herself in her Ohio bedroom last year after her ex-boyfriend redistributed nude self-portraits she had sent him by phone. Logan received notes and texts bearing the words "whore" and "slut" from girls at her school. She stopped attending classes and eventually took her own life.
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