Sexting Strangers: “Oh, No you Di-int!” The Epidemic.
~
In my line of work, I deal with the more intimate things with people and their relationships, thusly leading to sexually charged conversations, situations, and the like. I have no problem handling myself in any of these situations, and can often diffuse the rough or difficult times within minutes ensuring all parties safely exit back to their own lives peacefully. I see more penises, vaginas, sexually related things; STIs, STDs, pictures of heinous intimacy related things…. really just about everything you could ever imagine all the time. And I’m A-Okay with that. In fact, I love it. It’s life. It’s human. It’s fact. I’ve heard almost every line in the book, been asked to join orgies and all of the like… just not interested. But thanks! And as for sexting…you know I’ve done it before, too. Mine look something like this:
What I’m not okay with is receiving this picture, (sans Easter eggs…I added those gems as to not poke anyone’s eyes out), from someone this morning at 4am. (Really it was 3am. You should never, ever wake someone on the night of a time change…especially in the spring, in Indiana.)
This is Vincent. He’s from Fort Wayne. He’s really desperately seeking companionship, so I thought I’d share his photo and help a brother out.
Oh, my, I bet your mother is SO proud! No, I’ve never met Vincent before, and only know it’s him from the linkage to his own Facebook account from the phone number attached to his penis, and lovely, “Wanna Fuck” message. Vincent, I’m disappointed. Your Facebook page tells me you “left” high school in 2012, which sounds as if graduation may have eluded you. Maybe because your penis was hanging out too often? I bet you spent a lot of time trying to be the “big dawg” at Northside, too. After what I’ve seen though…maybe just focus on your GED? You should really take the focus off of the little things that keep coming up in your life… I mean, come on, son.
Vincent aside, this is a huge problem in our technological society. There are lists of “in use” and “active” cell phone numbers all over the internet, and predators (and desperate Vincent’s…) randomly shoot off pictures of their erect and aroused areas in hopes to get a rise out of the person on the other end of the message. Of course it isn’t always men, like Vinny here…there are women that do it, too. Vincent, it’s now I pause to ask you….do you know and fully understand what I as a mother would have done to you if it would’ve been my child’s phone you sent that to? If my child would’ve seen that at all?
Parents, do you know this is an almost unpreventable problem? How will you handle it when it happens? I implore you to begin driving into your children’s little spongy brains as early as you can…. Don’t text/email/take a picture of/post/share/re-share/tweet/pin/snapchat/dropbox/Instagram ANYTHING they wouldn’t want Grandma to see. I was amazed at the statistics that came up doing a bit of research on teenage sexting…
This is an ever-growing problem in our society, and it truly is all in how you handle it. Yes, I could’ve gone to the police. Harassing messages and vulgar pictures, absolutely. I guess I’m just extremely patient in that I hope Vincent got the “cockignition” he needed to stop being a dumbass and move on to more important things in his life.
What can we learn here? No sexting, for the love of all that’s holy. And if you know Vincent, or see him out and about around the city, go ahead and direct him to my page. Invite his mother, too. I hate to always be the eye-opening bitch, but….
PS. Honestly, I’m still trying to wrap my head around how a person can be that desperate, that brazen, and that foolish. Sexting strangers….seriously!
