Teenagers

Earlier today I read that "we allow teenagers to work, drive, pay taxes, etc, why don't we allow them to vote?"  The answer is that teenagers don't always make the best decisions.  Sure, they can be academic or athletic superstars (I've taught a lot of those) and they can be wonderful people (taught a lot of those, too), but their brains aren't fully developed yet.  Too often they make bad decisions--which is why we let them work only during certain hours, in California we limit their driving privileges for the first couple years they have their licenses, and why their car insurance rates are so high.

Yes, I know adults make bad decisions, too, duh.  Teenagers make more of them.  I know that I don't make near as many stupid decisions now as I did when I was a teenager!

So when I saw this article, I thought, the solution is pretty simple:

Almost two-thirds of teenagers globally have been targeted for “sextortion” schemes by criminals seeking to pressure victims into sexual activity or extort money, according to recent research.

Sixty-five percent of Generation Z teens and young adults have been targets of “catfishing” scams across popular social media platforms or had their personal data hacked by criminals, according to a June 21 report by Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc. and published by the WeProtect Global Alliance.

“In both scenarios, the resulting photos and videos were then used to threaten or blackmail the young people, with abusers demanding money, gift cards, more sexual imagery, or other personal information in supposed exchange for not releasing the material to the young person’s family and friends,” the report said.

Yes, I know adults also do stupid things regarding pictures and video of their naked bodies and sex acts.  Again with a small sample size, over the years my school has had many issues regarding students' sending naked pics of themselves or others to each other, but none of our teachers has.  The kids don't always make good decisions.  How many adults ate Tide Pods vs how many teenagers?!

I remember hearing about this:

In a May 3 press conference, Jennifer Buta, the mother of a 17-year-old boy from Michigan who committed suicide after being a victim of a sextortion scheme, asked parents to have “tough conversations” with their children about the dangers such scams pose.

Telling your kid not to send naked pictures of him/herself to others should not be a "tough conversation".  I can see how it might be awkward for some people, but it's a lot less awkward than the birds and the bees talk.  Not only can such a talk keep your kid from being humiliated, it might keep him/her off the sex offenders list, too.