WEBVTT

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
People have been using media to talk
about sex for a long time.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Love letters, phone sex, racy polaroids.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
There's even a story of a girl who eloped
with a man that she met over the telegraph

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in 1886.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Today we have sexting,
and I am a sexting expert.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Not an expect sexter.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Though, I do know what this means,
I think you do too.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I have been studying sexting since 
the media attention to it began in 2008.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I wrote a book on the moral
panic about sexting.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And here's what I found:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
most people are worrying
about the wrong thing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They're trying to just prevent
sexting from happening entirely.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But let me ask you this:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
As long as it's completely consensual,
what's the problem with sexting?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
People are into all sorts of things
that you may not be into,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like blue cheese or cilantro.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Sexting is certainly risky,
like anything that's fun,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but as long as you're not sending an image
to someone who doesn't want to receive it,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there's no harm.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
What I do think is a serious problem is
when people share private images of others

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
without their permission.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And instead of worrying about sexting,
what I think we need to do

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is think a lot more about digital privacy.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The key is consent.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Right now most people are thinking

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
about sexting without really thinking
about consent at all.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Did you know we currently
criminalize teen sexting?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It can be a crime because it counts
as child pornography,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if there's an image of someone under 18
and it doesn't even matter

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if they took that image of themselves
and shared it willingly.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So we end up with this
bizarre legal situation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
where two 17-year-olds
can legally have sex in most U.S. states

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but they can't photograph it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Some states have also tried passing
sexting misdemeanor laws

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but these laws repeat the same problem

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because they still make
consensual sexting illegal.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It doesn't make sense

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to try to ban all sexting
to try to address privacy violations.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This is kind of like saying,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
let's solve the problem of date rape
by just making dating completely illegal.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Most teens don't get arrested for sexting,
but can you guess who does?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's often teens who are disliked
by their partner's parent.