I wish there was a way to stay informed when a new word is invented. I've seen references to the word "sexting" in the past few months and haven't been reading about what it pertains to. At least not until now, with yet another celebrity controversy appearing on the social radar.
Sexting vs. E-Mail
The word "sexting" is a portmanteau of the words "sex" and "texting" (and "texting" is short for "text messaging"), but it doesn't just mean texting involving sexually explicit words. I especially hate new words coined that don't quite mean what you think they do.
With sexting, sexually explicit messages, which may or may not include text and may or may not include images, are primarily sent over mobile phones. This may seem like something relatively new, but it's been around as long as e-mail has had the capability of attaching pictures. In fact, instant messengers were used for doing this before cell phones became ubiquitous.
Problems with Sexting
With mobile phones, especially cell phones, sexting can create problems some people may not be aware of until it's too late. Because cell phones can be carried almost anywhere, that which is viewed on a cell phone can sometimes be seen by more people than the intended recipient. If the attached images are sexually explicit photos of minor children, for example, one or both parties in the communication can end up facing criminal charges.
Another problem is wrong numbers. You may not think this is a problem, but how many times have you sent a text message to the wrong person? A lot of people, especially younger people (not my generation), move their fingers so quickly over the cell phone keypads and make simple typographical errors frequently. If typos happen, so do wrong numbers. I've seen it happen in front of my own eyes, so I'm not making this up.
In the case of sexting, making an honest mistake (even when the message isn't quite so honest) can land you in jail. Please be careful how you communicate, especially in our guilty until proven innocent societies.
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This article is published as: What is Sexting? It's Sexually Explicit Texting and Picture Sending, that's what it is
Sexting? That's pretty new. I have been learning a lot of strange words lately, seriously. Some are educational, some are not and some are just invented by friends.
You are right, these things can cause a lot of people to trouble especially the teenage ones. So, it is possible to have intimate thing through cellphones.
I have never heard of this word before…anyway thanks to you, i have learnt a new word…anyway people who send such sexting messages for fun should be punished
That's a fairly narrow view to have when it concerns 2 people and not you. Lovers have been sending letters and messages to each other through the ages back into time as far as we know. The only difference now is that the response time is practically nothing. I can not imagine what the world would be like today had people not been able to send "love letters" to each other who were separated by distance.
Sexting at its core has been around for ever. Agreed. I find it abhorrent that the media/parents have turned the word to solely connote inappropriate photo/video messages to minors. We just launched our site, Inspiration for Sexters, at http://www.SextSessions.com, so go check it out!
I was doing some research online and backtracked to your page after I found this TeenageSexting on a site. I think it's worthwhile to look into what the kids are up to, it's a scary world out their to be a parent now with cell phones and all the horror stories right now about teenagers sexting & the troubles that has caused in their young lives.
Joan Murphy recently posted..Teenage Sexting – How to discover it and stop it!