The world has never been more connected. In an instant, a picture can be taken and emailed to others. While certainly there are advantages, there is a darker side.
Parents and teens all over Canada, including Drumheller, are being taught how to be safe using the latest social technology, especially in regards to sexting, where people send pictures or messages of a sexual nature to one another.
inSide Drumheller spoke with the Drumheller RCMP and local schools to find out what is being done locally about sexting.
The RCMP host presentations throughout the year to teach students and parents about the dangers of an increasingly digital world.
“A lot of the students have been spoken to in a number of different ways. Any incident that comes too close to it that we hear of, we discuss with the kids,” said Staff Sergeant Art Hopkins. “A lot of it is not done with the intent to traffic pornography, the kids may not understand what they are doing. That picture could come back to haunt them many years after the fact.”
The RCMP have hosted sessions for both junior and senior high students.
“They’re great presentations, because they talk about everything. Nothing is taboo, which is great. The kids are talking about it anyway, so to hide it from them won’t make it go away,” said Amber Channell, Family School Liaison Worker for St. Anthony’s School.
At Drumheller Valley Secondary School, the “No Regrets” campaign has touched upon sexting.
“We spend a lot of time and energy teaching our students about using digital devices responsibly. We have addressed the issues of texting, appropriate use of texting, and sexting.We just finished a year-and-a-half campaign, our No Regrets campaign, which didn’t deal with sexting specifically, but talked about healthy relationships and how to identify a relationship when it’s not healthy,” said principal Curtis LaPierre.
Teachers are also ready to help students one-on-one should issues arise.
“After these presentations, I had students come in being upset and admitting they had sent pictures of themselves. They began to realize the dangers of some of the things they had done,” said Channell.
However, both the schools and RCMP agree, if sexting is to stop, parents must get involved.
“With anything that impacts the lives of students, especially in a negative way, schools get involved. If we find issues like that, we always call the parents and inform them of what is going on,” said LaPierre.
“There have been a small number of issues at this time. I think it’s very important for parents to monitor what their child is doing with their digital devices and some parameters be put in place. If they’re using their phones in an inappropriate way, maybe it’s time to remove that privilege.”
A proactive approach, it is suggested, is for parents to speak with their children about sexting.
“There is education being done, but parents need to talk to their kids about their phones and the consequences of what they send,” said Hopkins.
The best approach, LaPierre suggests, is to tackle the issue head on.
“Don’t beat around the bush, get right to the point, and put everything on the table. I’ve found kids appreciate that approach more. It’s amazing what kids will take ownership of with direct communication and if there’s been an issue, generally they will tell you,” said LaPierre.