Should We Be Jailed for Dumb Decisions?

April 10, 2009     Posted in Buzz

sexting


By Amanda

A 14-year-old New Jersey girl was arrested after posting nude pictures of herself on her Myspace profile in an attempt to tease her boyfriend. The charge? Distributing child pornography.

Three Pennsylvania teens face similar charges after sending some seriously dirty texts.

Yikes! I’ve been known to send what I suppose some could classify as a dirty text every now and then, and while it’s not illegal being I am an adult who can do whatever she pleases with her unlimited text plan, I can’t help but sympathize with these girls.

We all make stupid decisions when we’re in love…or lust.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children claims to have “seen a rise in cases of teenagers who, because of severe bad judgment or downright stupidity, place semi-nude or nude photos of themselves on the web or send racy cell phone pictures of themselves to friends.” I agree that this was really, really bad judgment (I mean, these girls do know that texts can be forwarded, right?), but is jail time really going to help them understand where they went wrong?

We’ve all made some pretty stupid decisions growing up. One instance at summer camp in 5th grade comes to mind. Let’s just say it involved a phone-sex hot line, a pay phone and a very serious game of truth or dare gone awry. Thank god our parents were called instead of the police, or I’d be in a hell of a lot more trouble than having my allowance taken away.

Even as adults we continue to make poor decisions (every weekend) and pray to god they don’t catch up with us. Binge drinking, hooking up with strangers, meeting people off the internet… and then posting all the incriminating photos on Facebook. Photos that automatically get shared with far more people than a simple text.

Photos that can easily come back to haunt us…

The point is, there are plenty of ways to punish someone (like letting the situation pan out and letting embarassment set in) and jail time seems a bit too harsh for a little adolescent naivety. Do you really think a 14-year-old girl who sends a naughty pic of herself to her super-serious middle school BF deserves the same fate as T.I.?

And, let’s be honest for a moment here, isn’t music by Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers punishment enough for today’s youth? I’m just sayin’…

What do you think? Should we punish kids for stupidity?

17 Comments on "Should We Be Jailed for Dumb Decisions?"

  1. GoingLikeSixty says:
    Fri, 10th Apr 200911:33 am 

    EVERY parent has pix of their naked kids. I'm glad I don't have to make a decision on how/when to prosecute.

  2. April says:
    Fri, 10th Apr 20093:57 pm 

    If that's what it takes to get 14-year-olds to stop behaving like whores and start behaving like the kids they are… then yes, I think they should be jailed… not for extended periods of time, mind you, but enough to get the point across. Seriously, things are getting a bit ridiculous.

  3. snarktastic says:
    Sat, 11th Apr 20094:04 am 

    charging them isn't necessarily about "fixing" their problems. the law is the law, and if it's not going to be enforced, it won't be respected.

    they're not being punished for their stupidity, they're being punished for breaking the law BECAUSE they're morons.

  4. Patrice says:
    Sat, 11th Apr 20098:05 pm 

    I think jail is extremely harsh… it's a little over the top. Distributing child porn…? that's a little strong I think. However, it was stupid of them to do that.

  5. Sarah says:
    Mon, 13th Apr 200910:09 am 

    This isn't "distributing child porn," this is a bunch of teen girls looking for attention and getting it the only way they think they can: by flaunting their naked bodies in an indirect and impersonal way (i.e. texting, online, etc).

    These girls can't be punished any more than they've already punished themselves. Making choices such as these will only affect the way others look and think about them in the future. It's their choice, however, and they can deal with the natural consequences of that choice.

    Nonetheless, sending a teenager to jail for sending naked pics of herself to her boyfriend isn't going to make her re-evaluate her choice the next time, it's going to continue teaching her that her body is something to hide and be ashamed of. I think it's intrusive and downright wrong for anyone but her parents to intervene in a matter such as this. The law has no place in trying to teach teenage girls the proper way to act and present themselves.

    I can't say anything more other than I totally disagree with the way the situation is being handled.

  6. Aislinn says:
    Tue, 14th Apr 20093:49 am 

    Jail is a touch extreme, what these kids need is some proper sex education and parents that are willing to talk about stuff like that. We all make stupid choices as kids( I know having been arrested and narrowly escaping juvie by the ripe old age of 15), but jail is not the answer. Parents need to take the opportunity, like naked pics of Miley whatsherface or Vanessa Hudgens to talk to their kids about choices like that and how they can negatively impact their lives. And yes, I do feel that the jonas brothers may in fact be punishment enough.

  7. Lauren says:
    Tue, 14th Apr 20098:24 am 

    Jail is too extreme at that age. Imagine the lifelong consequences – not getting a part time job in high school – not being allowed in extracurriculars (they kick them out for that usually), the kids would end up getting into more trouble just out of not being allowed to be productive members of society. The law should probably only apply to adults who break it, or to people who post something other than themselves, or to people who make money off of it or something. This is really sluttiness and stupidity and not child pornography.

  8. kiki says:
    Fri, 17th Apr 20094:16 pm 

    i think jail is ok, cause this way teenagers will now think twice before they do this stupidity.

  9. tay says:
    Fri, 17th Apr 20095:14 pm 

    Punishing them at all is bullshit. These girls are 14, tell me what was on your mind at 14? Yeah, that's what I thought. Whether we adults like it or not, these girls are sexual beings, and their bodies belong to THEM. Not the state, not their parents, THEM. While I agree it is absolutely stupid to do what they did, that is their absolutely stupid decision to make. No one else's. We all have to make our own mistakes, and the consequences of this particular mistake are that of a personal nature. It isn't easy for young girls these days, and it never has been, and everyone needs to find their own way through this over-sexualized media and the war on sex our society is trying to fight all the time. (18 to buy a vibe??? RIDIC) It's hard, and treating them like little babies who are a-ssexual won't help.

  10. r b says:
    Mon, 20th Apr 20092:14 pm 

    So….Ever Cop, prosecutor, phone provider who gave proof to police…hey all..trafficked in child porn…by their definition…Bunch of self-righteous pervs or prudes…

  11. kae says:
    Mon, 20th Apr 20097:34 pm 

    i know about 10 middle school girls who have done this, 2 of them were charged with the same thing i believe. but as for the rest of them… the embarrassment, how out of control it got, the shame afterwards and realizing the original recipients weren't as trustworthy as they thought was enough to get the point across. still, my middle school sister says that's normal & common now, and girls aren't even labeled as trashy for doing it (even when sent to friends or guys they aren't dating… if middle school relationships ever really count). it is sad though, and something needs to be done about it. i don't know if jail time will work, but as one person said, a short period of time would be good. for a young girl, a day in jail would most likely mean the worst day of their lives and a serious impact would be made.

  12. anontanan says:
    Thu, 23rd Apr 20096:43 am 

    I think it's too young to do that. I'm Thai. Thai culture is very strick but now every parents are very very moody about their kids!

  13. JohnE says:
    Mon, 27th Apr 20099:47 am 

    They generally don't imprison people for good decisins.

  14. zhad says:
    Thu, 30th Apr 20095:08 pm 

    I'm 20 now, but thinking back a few years ago, I realize that I should have been much less private then I was. I now realize that privacy is, if not already dead, dying every day, and for that I am grateful. I hope people can learn to come out of their shells. I wouldn't care in the least if everyone with an internet connection saw my body, but fair is fair and I would expect unfettered access to pictures everyone else. What is this obsession with keeping part of yourself private? The most common argument I would likely receive is that it would hurt my chances with a potential employer. But I would be the first one to walk away from any interview if it became apparent that they actually cared about what I did outside of work. It's none of their business. By all means, have access to my information, all of it, but don't base your hiring decisions on something you see that has no bearing on my expected job performance.

  15. Ana says:
    Tue, 24th Apr 20121:11 am 

    Yes, they can get a criminal wrnraat against you, if you got money from them and you haven’t paid it back or made an attempt to pay it back. Usually it is called theft of services , because they provided you a service and you didn’t fulfill your part of the bargain, in essence stealing from them. They can file a police report and have a wrnraat signed by the judge to arrest you for it. It would be the company putting you in jail, not the collection company. You should call them and try to pay at least part of it. You shouldn’t have gotten an advance from them if you didn’t have the money to pay it back or weren’t planning to pay it back. Take responsibility for your actions pay it.

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