A Closer Look

Last year I conducted an action research project with a group of 15 youth at the half-way house where I teach. Part of the project included looking at a phenomenon related to youth and technology called, “Sexting.” Kazdin and Ibanga (2009) reported, “There's nothing coy about this 21st century amorous pursuit. Children as young as 12, who aren't sexually active, are sending explicit, provocative and even pornographic images to their peers.” Connecting digital tools and the social implications they have on youth and families, they further reported, “Sex easily and quickly integrated itself into the digital age; and now the teen trend of "sexting" -- where a user sends sexually explicit images or messages via text on a cell phone -- has parents struggling for a way to address the situation.” http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/truth-teens-sexting/story?id=7337547

Indeed, “Mobile Identity” has a significant affect on meaning making in terms of the framing and development of adolescent identity with the context of digital media (Stald, 2008). Stald (2008) appropriately argues, “…young people’s identity is influenced by their use of media, in particular personal communication media such as the mobile phone…it also implies a view of adolescent identity as mobile, changing and developing moment by moment and over time, as very sensitive to changes in the relations between friends and families, and to the emotional and intellectual challenges experienced and mediated through the use of the mobile phone (among other factors)” p.143.

As adolescents are “constantly negotiating who they are,” within “the exchange between friends which is needed in the reflexive process of identity construction” (Stald, 2008), the fact that adolescents often neglect key factors in terms of personal responsibility for the what is sent and received is disregarded.

The consequences of Sexting can have life long negative implications – youth can become registered sex offenders for irresponsible choices, such as sending suggestive photos of friend via email using a cell phone. See an example of one such case on ABC News: http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7340504

Stald (2008) emphasizes, “The mobile has become the ideal tool to deal with the pace of information exchange, the management of countless loose, close or intimate relations, the coordination of ever-changing daily activities, and the insecurity of everyday life” (p.144). Important questions arise within this context:

• How can the management of the myriad of relationships between and among youth be safeguarded as they maximize appropriate uses of digital tools?
• What are the implications for education in these contexts as students use digital tools inside of classrooms and on school campuses?
• What is the role of educators to guide appropriate processes of identity construction?
  

The Washington Post (Oei, 2009) reported in “My Students. My Cell Phone. My Ordeal,” a case of a principal being arrested for child pornography that involved a cell phone.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702663.html

Among the four themes that Stald (2008) discusses in “Mobile Identity: Youth, Identity, and Mobile Communication Media,” none address as a critical component the need for appropriate safeguards for youth and educators. In my view this is a grave mistake; mistakes that will continue to have more grievous implications as digital tools permeate every aspect of society.