Sexting

If you own a cell phone with a camera and text messaging capabilities, congratulations you are capable of participating in the latest trend for teens and young adults.

Sexting is a disturbing trend in which one person electronically sends sexually explicit photos to another person. This is a dangerous practice that has serious repercussions that students and the general public need to be made more aware of.

The media has focused a lot of attention on how dangerous sexting is for teens to participate in, but there has been significantly less attention given to college students who participate in sexting.

It may seem like its okay for college students to participate in sexting because owning nude pictures of someone over the age of 18 is not illegal, but there are still several repercussions college students can face if they do participate.

Students who "sext" face public embarrassment or even having a difficult time finding a job.

Obviously, once a picture is out there it can be shared or forwarded to others without the owner's permission and even posted online. This can lead to several embarrassing situations.

If you do decide to "sext," do you really want your fellow classmates to know what you look like in the bedroom? You will always be known as "that guy/girl" and the chances of being taken seriously significantly diminish.

College administrators won't take you seriously either. If they find out you have "sexted" in the past, they may decide to pull that scholarship you worked so hard to earn.

As technology improves, so does the process of choosing who should be admitted as a student or even hired as an employee. Administrators and hiring managers across the country are turning to the Internet to make sure they choose quality students or employees to represent their school or company.

If they find any sexually explicit photos of you, you have a slim chance of being admitted of hired.

I personally do not think sexting is something a student should do if they want to be considered a smart, responsible adult, but it is not illegal in every case. If you do decide to "sext" at least be smart and think twice before you hit the send button.