Can we just retire the word "sexting" and all media coverage thereof?
This morning, the top headline on IndyStar.com read "Poll: Sexting common among young people / Teens do not think about the consequences of sharing racy images, experts say." Earlier this week, the Today Show ran yet another segment on the dangers of "sexting," designed to frighten mothers everywhere with the tale of a teen who committed suicide after her racy photos were exposed to peers. Or something. I'll admit, I left the room when I saw her mother sitting on the couch with Meredith Vieira.
A tragic story, no doubt, but dirty pictures don't actually kill anyone. To draw a direct line between hitting "send" and ending one's life is a gross oversimplification of the complex tragedy of teen suicide.
A Google search for "the dangers of sexting" returns 110,000 results, but really, I can only think of one: nakey pix ending up in the hands of someone other than the intended recipient. If, in the image-centric years of teenagedom, the threat of that kind of exposure isn't enough of a deterrent, the dire scare tactics of the Today Show will at best be laughed at.
Possibly even more grating than the coverage of sexting is the etymology. Dirty pictures are neither sex nor text, but apparently the concurrence of Xs was just too sweet to pass up. And while my connection to teenagers is tenuous at best, the second definition on UrbanDictionary.com confirms my suspicions that the word is not of the kids' construction but rather the media's.
So kudos to LG for treating the phenomenon with humor rather than doomsday warnings in this highly watchable (and re-watchable, and forwardable) PSA featuring James Lipton. (Double kudos for resisting the urge to say "sexting".) Ad wizards have figured out what the national news media can't: kids will pay less attention to the sensational-but-rare consequence than they will to the more likely and relatable one.
That's the message, kids. Don't sext, lest there be tweets about your petes.
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