SEXTING VS. SEXTORTION
There is no doubt that smartphones are having a tremendous impact on our everyday lives. The use of instant messaging especially has skyrocketed since the introduction of smartphones and social media. Research suggests that over 41 million messages are sent out every minute, 4 and this number is expected to continue to increase. The term ‘sexting’ has emerged as the use of text messages and instant messages to send sexually explicit photographs, videos, and messages has become more prevalent. Sexting is also commonly found over popular apps such as WhatsApp and Instagram Direct Messages, but we have seen it widely popularized through Snapchat due to its ability to send photographs/videos and messages that can only be seen once for only a few seconds before it “disappears” into cyberspace – unless, of course, someone was to take a screenshot and distribute it to others… Sexting has several dangers to acknowledge regarding how it can permanently impact the lives of our youth. One of the most dangerous scenarios that we see occur repeatedly, especially in teenagers, is sextortion. Sextortion is a form of exploitation that involves the threat of releasing shared intimate videos, images, or explicit messages online . 5 Sextortion can happen to anyone who chooses to sext – it’s not always a stranger you’ve never met; it can also be someone close to you. It is crucial for our youth to understand that when they choose to engage in sexting, they are subjecting themselves to the risk of sextortion. If you or someone you know is worried that their intimate images/videos are circulating the online space, there are resources available to support them . Take it Down is a free service that can help you remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old. When using Take it Down, you would first select the image(s) or video(s) on your device that you’re concerned about . Then, Take It Down will assign a unique digital fingerprint, called a hash value, to the image or video. The hash will be shared with participating online platforms that can use it to detect copies of these images or videos on their services and take action to remove the content or limit the spread. This happens without the image or video ever leaving your device or anyone viewing it, and you don’t have to share any personal information. For those over the age of 18, you may refer them to the Stop Non- Consensual Intimate Images website, which works the same way as Take It Down.
4 Text, Don’t Call: Messaging Apps Statistics for 202 4 (kommandotech.com) 5 Sextortion: A Definition
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