Whether we like to admit it or not, we all do things that we shouldn’t. While we all try to achieve the best we possibly can, there are many decisions we can make that could potentially stop us from doing so. 

One thing that has become extremely popular in the past few years is “sexting.” For those of you who don’t know what that is, the title gives it away; it’s the act of sending sexually explicit messages, photos or videos through text messages.

There have been many controversies about this and people are trying to find ways to prevent teens from doing such things. This year, a new law is going into action to keep teens from exposing themselves in such a manner.  

House Bill 4583 basically says that anyone under the age of 17 is not allowed to send sexually explicit messages (of themselves or others) through cell phones, computers, etc.  This law considers sexting to be a form of child pornography and those who break it can be charged with a Class B misdemeanor. Anyone who breaks this law can be taken to court, end up getting counseling or community service or worse. 

Even if you are in love and want to share such things with a partner, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be the only one who sees it. Many times the photos and messages you send that are meant to be private are shared with others, sometimes accidentally, sometimes on purpose. If you are going out with someone and send a sexual image, they may show it to a friend, or a friend may be flipping through messages and see it by accident.

These messages can have the ability to ruin you, whether you believe it or not.  The pictures or messages you choose to send could end up on the internet, which means they will be there forever. If a provocative picture of you ends up online, you cannot take it down, not matter how hard you try.    

When making decisions, you have to think of the long-term effects, not the short ones. Even if sending something explicit to your boyfriend or girlfriend seems like a good idea at the time, it most likely is not. Once they’re in someone else’s possession, there is nothing you can do to stop them from sharing it with other people. 

Think about your future. 

These photos are out there, which means that a potential employer could see them or even a teacher. How is someone going to be able to respect you once they see explicit photos of you? To be completely honest, they probably won’t.

 When I talked to my friends about sexting, the majority of the responses were “ewe!" (which was mine as well). I don’t understand why someone would want to do this. There many other ways to express your affection besides sexting that aren't illegal. 

The choices you make now will have a huge impact on your future, even if it doesn't seem that way at the time. Your choice to send something like this could potentially damage your future and prevent you from doing what you want in life. Just because you don’t think the person you sent it to will share it to anyone; they could, it’s out of your hands. Anyone could see these messages, and once it’s out there, it’s out there forever.