9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 People have been using media to talk[br]about sex for a long time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Love letters, phone sex, racy polaroids. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 There's even a story of a girl who eloped[br]with a man that she met over the telegraph 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 in 1886. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Today we have sexting,[br]and I am a sexting expert. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Not an expect sexter. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Though, I do know what this means,[br]I think you do too. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I have been studying sexting since [br]the media attention to it began in 2008. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I wrote a book on the moral[br]panic about sexting. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And here's what I found: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 most people are worrying[br]about the wrong thing. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 They're trying to just prevent[br]sexting from happening entirely. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But let me ask you this: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 As long as it's completely consensual,[br]what's the problem with sexting? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 People are into all sorts of things[br]that you may not be into, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like blue cheese or cilantro. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Sexting is certainly risky,[br]like anything that's fun, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but as long as you're not sending an image[br]to someone who doesn't want to receive it, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 there's no harm. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 What I do think is a serious problem is[br]when people share private images of others 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 without their permission. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And instead of worrying about sexting,[br]what I think we need to do 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 is think a lot more about digital privacy. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 The key is consent. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Right now most people are thinking 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 about sexting without really thinking[br]about consent at all. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Did you know we currently[br]criminalize teen sexting? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It can be a crime because it counts[br]as child pornography, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if there's an image of someone under 18[br]and it doesn't even matter 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 if they took that image of themselves[br]and shared it willingly. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So we end up with this[br]bizarre legal situation 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 where two 17-year-olds[br]can legally have sex in most U.S. states 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but they can't photograph it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Some states have also tried passing[br]sexting misdemeanor laws 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but these laws repeat the same problem 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because they still make[br]consensual sexting illegal. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It doesn't make sense 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to try to ban all sexting[br]to try to address privacy violations. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 This is kind of like saying, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 let's solve the problem of date rape[br]by just making dating completely illegal. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Most teens don't get arrested for sexting,[br]but can you guess who does? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 It's often teens who are disliked[br]by their partner's parent. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And this can be because of class bias,[br]racism or homophobia. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Most prosecutors are smart enough[br]not to use child pornography charges 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 against teenagers but some do. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 According to researchers[br]at the University of New Hampshire 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 seven percent of all child pornography[br]possession arrests are teens, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sexting consensually with other teens. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Child pornography is a serious crime, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 but it's just not[br]the same thing as teen sexting. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Parents and educators are also[br]responding to sexting 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 without really thinking[br]too much about consent. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Their message to teens is often,[br]just don't do it. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And I totally get it,[br]there are serious legal risks 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and of course,[br]that potential for privacy violations. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And when you were a teen, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 I'm sure you did exactly[br]as you were told, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 You're probably thinking,[br]my kid would never sext. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And that's true, your little angel[br]may not be sexting 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 because only 33% of 16 and[br]17-year-olds are sexting. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 But, sorry, by the time they're older,[br]odds are they will be sexting. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Every study I've seen puts the rate[br]above 50% for 18 to 24-year-olds. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 And most of the time,[br]nothing goes wrong. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 People ask me all the time things like,[br]isn't sexting just so dangerous, though, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 like you wouldn't leave your wallet[br]on a park bench and you expect 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 it's gonna get stolen[br]if you do that, right? 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Here's how I think about it: 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 sexting is like leaving your wallet[br]at your boyfriend's house. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 If you come back the next day 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 and all the money is just gone,[br]you really need to dump that guy 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 So instead of criminalizing sexting to try[br]to prevent these privacy violations, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 instead we need to make consent central 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 to how we think about the circulation[br]of our private information. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 Every new media technology[br]raises privacy concerns. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In fact, in the U.S. the very first[br]major debates about privacy 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 were in response to technologies[br]that were relatively new at the time. 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 In the late 1800s, people were[br]worried about cameras, 9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000 which were just suddenly more portable than ever before, and newspaper gossip columns. They were worried that the camera would capture information about them, take it out of context and widely disseminate it. Does this sound familiar? It's exactly what we're worrying about now with social media and drone cameras and, of course, sexting. And these fears about technology, they make sense because technologies can amplify and bring out our worst qualities and behaviors. But there are solutions. And we've been here before with a dangerous new technology. In 1908, Ford introduced the Model T car. Traffic fatality rates were rising. It was a serious problem -- it looks so safe, right? Our first response was to try to change drivers behavior, so we developed speed limits and enforced them through fines. But over the following decades, we started to realize the technology of the car itself is not just neutral. We could design the car to make it safer. So in the 1920s, we got shatter resister windshields. In the 1950s, seatbelts. And in the 1990s, airbags. All three of these areas: laws, individuals, industry came together over time to help solve the problem that a new technology causes.