Are you into sexting?
Gone are the good old days of conventional dating rules. Nowadays, with technology ruling pretty much every part of our lives, you can be sure that love has also taken a byte out of it.
Enter sexting. For the uninformed, sexts (sexually explicit text messages) are text messages sent via one’s mobile phone, which includes messages on the raunchy side right down to explicit photographs (read: naked) taken by the sender for the recipient.
In order words? Mobile pornography.
Don’t you dare blush and giggle. Before you ask “who would be so silly to do such a thing?”, you should know that sending someone else a nude photo of yourself via the mobile phone is probably just as common as sending flowers these days. Your closest friend could even be doing it right now (she’s just not telling you about it!). An informal online poll done by our neighbours in Singapore showed that out of the 700 males and females who responded, nearly half have engaged in an act of sexting. We’re willing to bet the numbers won’t be that much different should the same poll be done right here in Malaysia.
Since when did we turn into such free loving people? Well, blame it on the Facebook mentality. You are constantly updating friends what you are doing every hour, posting up every photo you took, and now even checking in whether you are at the gym or a mamak nearby. Seems like everyone’s just more open with their lives now. So why not share a picture of your intimate parts with someone you love? After all, you’re not taking a head shot photo; who can tell it’s you? And besides, it makes the relationship, well, a little bit more exciting and risqué. What can go wrong?
We’ll give you seven reasons why sexting can go oh-so-wrong.
#1 It can be a crime
It’s just a sexy photo shared between two people, nothing more to it, right? Well, tell that to the 15-year-old girl in Ohio, USA, who was arrested for sending nude photos to her classmates. Her charge? Distributing child pornography, which can result in her having to register as a sex offender. Not worried yet? In Singapore, an individual found sending explicit text messages can be charged under the Undesirable Publications Act.
#2 It can ruin your career
Remember Anthony Weiner? His political career as a U.S Representative ended when he was found to have sent several sexually explicit photos and messages to women. So long reputable congressman, hello sleazebag. While you may not be planning to run for office, we are pretty sure your boss will not appreciate your after-office hours activities that may reflect bad not just on you but also the company should it ever be made public.
#3 You’re doing it for the wrong reason
Oftentimes, women are pressured by their boyfriend (or a guy they are interested in) when it comes to sexting. “Just a little sneak peak,” he says. Well, what may seem like a fun and flirty thing to do then will cause you sleepless nights, wondering if you’ve done something stupid that could haunt you years later. And where do you cross the line between flirty and plain lewd? Plus, how sure are you he’s not sharing it with his mates during show and tell? Our advice? Don’t even go there.
#4 You guys broke up
Uh-uh, danger ahead. If the relationship ended on a bad note, who’s to say he won’t be making your photos a matter of public interest? Especially if you ended the relationship. Or he could be using them to blackmail you in staying in the relationship, threatening you to show the photos to your family. Either way, the picture’s not rosy. Guys – be careful too. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
#5 It could end up in the wrong hands
Sure, you both trust each other with your collection of saucy photos. But what happens if either of you lose your phone? Now, someone else out there has access to your nude photos, and there’s nothing you can do about it, even if that someone decides to put it up on the Internet. Even celebs are not immune to sexting gone wrong. Rumour has it that Ashton Kutcher accidently left his mobile phone in a taxi in 2007, which – you guessed it – contained nude photos of wifey Demi Moore. The driver of the cab was nice enough not to put the photos up online but he did demand a million dollar ‘reward’ for the safe return of the phone.
#6 The Internet is free for all
Which brings us to our sixth point. Once your photos are up on the Internet, you can kiss your dignity goodbye. Anyone, anywhere who has access to the Internet will also have access to your sexy shots. And by anyone, anywhere, we mean…EVERYONE. From your father to your former classmates to strangers living in another part of the world!
#7 Your photos live forever
Even if you delete them off your phone. Or get your ex to do it in front of you. But once they’ve ended up on the Internet, there’s no way of wiping out that sext you sent, whether it is naked photo of yourself or a lewd comment you made about what you’d like to do to him. Who knows, 20 years later, your child could come home crying from school because “someone has seen his mummy’s bits.”
The moral of the story? Don’t sext. Keep it PG-13. Because the last thing you want is to go down in history as the girl who showed it all off.
