Cañon City would no doubt like to be known for the magnificent Royal Gorge, its dramatic bridge and the nearby Pike-San Isabel National Forest. Instead it has been in the news of late because of a “sexting” scandal that reportedly involves hundreds of photos of minors, some as young as eighth-graders.
It is a stunning example of how technology and our society are pushing change faster than institutions, parents and the law can adapt.
Sexting is the practice, which most previous generations could hardly imagine, of taking photos of oneself in some degree of nudity and sharing the pictures via the Internet. The problem with it is two-fold.
For starters, there is the fact that, in the words of The Denver Post, “hundreds of students at Cañon City High School ... gave little thought to taking and sharing nude pictures of themselves or classmates.” In itself that speaks volumes about contemporary culture.
For context, consider that last month Playboy, which for more than 60 years was synonymous with naked women, announced that it would no longer feature such photos. The change did not reflect some moral recalibration or feminist awakening, but the fact that it could no longer compete in a world in which its potential customers are “one click away from every sex act imaginable for free.”
There is probably not much to be done about that. Societal and technological change is global, rapid and accelerating. Good and bad, it is available to anyone with a cell phone.
The second problem, however, is reflected in the official response to this episode. It is clear from their reaction that the grown-ups involved had no clue how to react. And given the fact that this is unlikely to be the last such episode, that needs to change.
After reports of the sexting surfaced last week the school district canceled the school’s last football game, which resulted in a forfeit. But in that there seems to be no real connection between the scandal and the game, that response seems reflexive.
Of course, officials want to meet with parents to talk about sexting and to urge them to check their children’s phones. (That probably already happened.) And the police rightly focused on whether bullying or coercion were involved.
But the local prosecutor started talking about who might face child pornography charges and whether students might be required to register as sex offenders. That is over the top.
If a minor takes and sends a nude selfie, who would be charged with what? And why? Laws against child pornography were enacted to protect children from predators. But who is which in a selfie? How is invoking those laws in this case not akin to charging a teen with assault on a child for masturbating?
Teens are sexual beings and if they choose to express that online instead of in the back of dad’s car, perhaps that simply reflects the times. They need to be taught the dangers of that – principally that what is out there is forever and for anyone to see – but there were risks in the back seat, as well.
If bullying or coercion were involved, those cases should be prosecuted.
Absent that, however, there is no reason to charge youngsters with sex crimes for exercising poor judgement – even if they were doing so in a way that so perfectly appalls their parents.
