Legislators decide how to punish teens found guilty of "sexting"

By Staff Writer

A survey conducted in 2008 by teen magazine Cosmo Girl and the National Campaign revealed that 39 percent of teens between the ages of 13 and 19 admit to having sent a sexually explicit message or picture in the past. The study also revealed that boys are more likely to receive sexts, while girls are more likely to send them.

In an effort to prevent this problem from continuing, lawmakers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are working through legislation that punishes teens who send, resend or post inappropriate pictures of themselves or other adolescents, Lehigh Valley Live reports.

Last year, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill, which proposed that minors who distribute sexually explicit photos should be punished with a second-degree misdemeanor charge. However, it did not pass in the Senate.

In the New Jersey Assembly, a program has been proposed that would educate "sexters" instead of punishing them. The bill suggests that the juvenile court system can determine when a sext is innocent, or a form of cyberbullying.

A recent survey by The Associated Press and MTV found that a quarter of American teenagers admitted to some form of sexting.