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Thursday, April 21, 2011 Cybersmart has released new lesson plans about sexting for both middle and upper secondary students. Sexting is the sending of provocative or sexual images or messages generally using a mobile phone. Sexting can have serious social and, increasingly, legal consequences for students.

University of NSW researcher Nina Funnell has spoken to hundreds of young people aged between 15 and 18 about their sexting habits for a book she is writing and found sexting is an accepted part of adolescent dating culture."The common idea is that young people are doing this as a response to pressure or they're brainwashed by popular culture," Ms Funnell said.

"Our first phone app, Below the Belt: Sex, Selfies and Cyberbullying, was launched in November 2013 on Google Play. Below the Belt has information on sex and consent, sexting and cyberbullying for young people in Australia, including victims of sexting or cyberbullying and friends who want to support them. As well as providing information about the law in every state, Below the Belt has interactive features young people can use to help navigate the issues."

"The 20-year-old from Sydney's western suburbs is at the centre of Australia's first ''sexting'' case, after a schoolgirl sent a nude photo of herself to his mobile phone. The maximum penalty he faces is a two-year jail term."

"Cyber-bullying, update-addiction, sexting - from the perspective of a parent raising a ''digital native'' child, social media seems fraught with dangers. But new research suggests the risks inherent in social media use by younger generations might be overblown. danah boyd, assistant research professor at Harvard and principal researcher for Microsoft Research - like k.d.lang, she prefers the lower case - has completed a large-scale study on how US teenagers use the internet in general, and social media in particular. Her book is called It's Complicated, and is the result of in-depth interviews with scores of teens over an eight-year period."

Schools have significantly different needs and ideas regarding on-line safety, much of it dependent upon their experience and comfort on the spectrum of users of digital media to promote student success. It is necessary for schools and communities to work together to demystify the potential uses and abuses of digital media within and outside the school setting. Understanding the potential for cyberbullying, sexting, or other inappropriate consumption and planning for responsible reactions to such is a priority for the community that wishes to harness the potential of the tools while also keeping children safe.

The Connect.ed program covers: cyberbullying; sexting; excessive internet use; mobile use; e-security; managing your digital reputation; and digital profiling. It also "advises teachers on what young people of all ages are doing online and draws on Australian experts in the cybersafety field, as well as on teachers and students themselves," ACMA says.

This is a disturbing story. While the comments of PhD researcher, Ninia Funnell, make sense on one level, her comments about age and the law don't match the child protection law in NSW. As Michael Flood points out childhood curiosity can lead to unplanned consequences, which is one reason legislation seeks to protect children.