Sexting Is Stupid's Open Salon Blog

Sexting, Safety And The Social Norm: Are You "Norm"al?

Wed, 3 Jun 2009 01:06:47 -0400

As our planet’s geographical boundaries become increasingly irrelevant due to the rapid advancement of digital communication, our global community has become more intimate, and our digital actions more pronounced. Technologies that our most intelligent ancestors could only dream of are now a daily afterthought that many of us take for granted.

Surviving in our rapidly evolving digital and virtual worlds requires a proactive digital mindset and an acute awareness of the social norm, “Responsibility 2.1C”. If you or a loved one utilize digital technology without a concurrent and necessary concept of 21st century responsibility, it is very likely that in your lifetime you will be directly or indirectly affected by the dire consequences that accompany poor (digital) judgment.

Ironically, this same technology bridging the communication gap between countries and generations, has proven that like our planet, it can instantly take from us, just as easily as it can reward.

When our ancestors first discovered the flame, they learned quickly that irresponsible use of fire will often lead to a burn. Armed with this very simple (now basic) knowledge, our predecessors proactively passed down this information through generations to ensure civilizations across our (once flat, then round, then vast, and increasingly shrinking) planet possessed a proactive acute awareness that “playing with a dangerous tool like fire can burn”. While this lesson was later adapted to include breakthrough inventions like the candle and the stove, the underlying concept never changed. Heat + Irresponsibility = Burn.

If we “fast forward” to today’s generation, with each sunrise comes a new idea, invention or gadget tied to the use of digital technologies. The innovative ideas and ingenuity our generation not only possesses but transforms into reality have forced all of us collectively and as individuals to rapidly adapt to a new way of working, a new way of living, a new way of communicating. However, lost in our rapid adaptation to these new technologies and “toys” was the creation of a uniform and proactive concept of responsibility, and a system to arm our digital generation with the knowledge that irresponsible utilization of these technologies, or “toys” can do more than burn, they can disintegrate an entire social system in less than ½ of 1 second. In Other Words: Digital Technology – 21st Century Responsibility = Annihilation.

The real irony here however is as innovative, brilliant, and “tech savvy” as our generation would say we are, pre-21st century civilizations with no universal form of written or verbal communication were able to collectively and proactively communicate safety and responsibility (about the flame and repercussions of irresponsible use) to future generations for adaptation to new technologies like the stove, and yet, in an age where a single image can devastate an entire community, in an era where the aforementioned image can be sent around the world in less than a second from the touch of a button, in a time when (global) communication is so easy and mindless we don’t even consider the processes required to execute our (instant) messages, it appears that nobody in our “advanced civilization” really ever stopped to ponder and prepare us, as a now digital society, for the concurrently devastating consequences poor judgment summons when irresponsibly utilizing these rapidly evolving and distributed technologies and “toys”.

As we continue our expeditious and reactive adaptation to technology, we concurrently continue to neglect the required understanding of how we ourselves (not to mention future generations) should formally behave and communicate responsibly to avoid the aforementioned annihilation. To employ a continuous and ongoing patchwork process as the means for curing rapidly evolving digital diseases like sexting, cyber bullying or sextcasting would ensure that our generation, and those to follow will forever be challenged with new, more dangerous digital diseases that will ultimately cause exponential harm. Executing reactionary based technologies and programs using pre-21st century concepts to digital disease once it has become a national issue fuels the inevitability that society’s demise will ultimately result from our own hands.

(The previous paragraph for a less technical audience: Reviewing what your kid did on a parental “spy” program 5 hours after they posted a nude picture of themselves will not shelter them should the image become viral. Requesting seminars on an ongoing basis to continuously reach an audience about a digital issue you read in today’s paper will not prepare that audience for a disease that presents itself tomorrow or in 2012, and cannot proactively prepare that audience for the very trend that prompted the seminar to begin with as a headline you read today is most likely about a trend that started years ago like sexting. In fact based on the recent headlines, it seems the national exposure of sexting has actually increased the frequency of incidents. Perhaps this is because rebellious youth will always do the opposite of what authority tells them unless they clearly and selfishly comprehend the personal long term harm and consequences of their actions.)

It is vital that our global leaders understand what is at stake here, and that technology offers no pity, remorse, or flexibility to fame, money or power. Strong social influence may shield some of our citizens from pre-21st century based rules and responsibilities like fines, lines, and poverty, but the President himself, the leader of the free world (today, or 20 years from today) could not recall an embarrassing image should it become viral through digital technologies without infringing upon our civil liberties.

Responsibility 2.1C is our generation’s flame. It is our generation’s basic concept of digital responsibility, safety and awareness. It is a necessary social norm that must be conceived and passed down to future generations starting today. As inventions and technologies are created, 2.1C can be adapted, however, as was the case with the flame, the candle, and the stove, the underlying concept will remain. Society’s ability to conceive, practice and communicate this very simple, uniform and established concept will assist us in proactively avoiding digital Armageddon.

Some may say this piece is a bit melodramatic, over the top, and unrealistic. To those of you that fall into the aforementioned group, I wonder if you were Jessica Logan’s mother if you wouldn’t feel like your world has ended. If you, your child, or your parents were at the epicenter of a digital issue like sexting or sextcasting with nowhere to run as technology is everywhere. I wonder if you would maintain the very thoughts you had a moment ago if your child or loved one was taken by a predator that located them because their school or corporate logo was visible on their shirt in somebody’s digital image. The aforementioned examples are a microcosm of tragedies that destroy multiple lives every day, and requesting a seminar to retroactively deal with specific issues on a case by case basis will ensure that this trend continues.

Sexting is a prehistoric concept compared to what is already here destroying lives at a rapid rate, and what lays on the digital horizon. Just as our ancestors could only dream of the technology we have today, we would be ignorant to think that a continuous evolution of technology and the new diseases they will present will not reveal themselves over the course of our lives and our childrens' lives. Our generation must be focused on preparing for diseases as they arrive in society, not a headline.

Now is the time for us as individuals, a nation, and a global community to understand, adapt to, and communicate Responsibility 2.1C. The proactive understanding of this social norm will save thousands of lives as it provides our generation, and generations to follow with the knowledge required to responsibly utilize current and future technologies and proactively cure digital disease. It is our generation’s chance to make a fresh start while we still can, by learning the lessons of our forefathers, and ensuring we have a firm grasp on how to use new tools and technologies before we rapidly innovate and distribute a potentially lethal tool as a sophisticated or innovative “toy”.

Digital Technology + Responsibility 2.1C = A Social Norm of 21st Century Safety, Responsibility and Awareness.

To learn more about Responsibility 2.1C, and how this concept can be communicated to your community for free ASAP, please visit www.iroc2.org.

News Flash America, Sexting Has Been Prevalent For Years

Mon, 1 Jun 2009 15:06:42 -0400

News Flash America, Sexting Has Been Prevalent For Years So Where Have We Been?

Can anyone answer this question PLEASE?

Why is it that Cyber Bullying and Sexting are only now receiving government, media and corporate attention when they are issues that have existed for years?

Every day there seems to be another unbelievably frustrating new article titled, "Sexting Invades Schools" or, "Sexting: New trend for teens sending sexual texts".

Wake Up America!

The real fact is, sexting has already claimed the lives and reputations of thousands of people long before the recent explosion of media and seminars were created. In fact, if you are just starting to learn about or address sexting and cyber bullying, you are way behind in understanding and / or educating society about the real current digital diseases.

Do you know tens of thousands of times a day private digital content is being stolen from "password protected" social sites, file sharing sites, file storage accounts, personal computers, and digital (video) camera cards?

Did you know that this same content is being exploited across the “dark” areas of the web as free adult content on pornographic websites and message boards?

If you did not know this, not only are you way behind in understanding digital disease, but depending on your lifestyle, you may also unknowingly already be a victim.

Sexting and Cyber Bullying need to be addressed, but so do other extremely more dangerous current (and future) trends. The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication is one organization with the foresight to think ahead as they created an effective, proactive “cure” to both current and future (yet to be developed) digital diseases that they communicate to audiences across the U.S. for free.

Can anyone answer this question?

How will society handle the next "trend" like SEXTCASTING to hit the headlines? Or the next one after that?

Will we just continue to react to each new issue on a case by case basis as each new travesty presents itself?

Clearly this would be an incredibly naive and ignorant way to continuously deal with 21st century digital diseases. A reactionary approach to 21st century issues is failing our generation, and thousands of lives are being altered instantly while we wait for outdated programs to react to old (but recently reported) digital trends.

While this article is being written, tens of thousands of lives are being altered by other, more dangerous trends online.

There are much worse digital diseases than sexting, and as society continues to react, react, react, to each new digital disease revealed by the media, tens of thousands of lives (children, adults and couples) are being devastated. It is time for our generation to understand that proactive communication and not a continuous pre-21st century reactionary approach to digital issues is what will save our digital generation, and generations to follow.

Is Your Child Sexting? What Parents Need to Know

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:05:16 -0400

Richard Guerry, Executive Director for The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communication Quoted in Sexting Article by Education.com.

The article also mentioned the more dangerous trend of SextCasting!

Is Your Child Sexting? What Parents Need to Know

Important PSA About Sexting, Online Safety and Digital Respo

Thu, 14 May 2009 21:05:08 -0400

ALERT! Prepare Yourselves For “SextCasting”!

Wed, 6 May 2009 13:05:34 -0400

You don’t need a cell phone or to “sext” to ruin your life in seconds. “SextCasting”™ is an issue that has already destroyed thousands of lives way before cell phones had text messaging, cameras, or were in the hands of everyone over the age of 13 (just ask Ms. Paris Hilton or Ms. Pamela Anderson).

While much of the world is still trying to deal with, understand, and react to the latest digital trends of “sexting”, and “cyber bullying” it appears that this much larger, and more dangerous “practice” has managed to continuously slip through the cracks for approximately a decade, until now.

““SextCasting”™ (Sext•Cast•ing) has been one of the internet’s deepest and darkest secrets that The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication is about to bring to the world’s attention.

A SextCast™ or “SextCasting”™ is the process by which an individual(s) performs actions of a risqué or sexually explicit nature via a (live) webcam (or webcast), digital (image or video) camera, or other form of digital technology and sends and/or saves the content of their actions using digital technologies (i.e. a computer, camera card, email, social website, message board, etc).

Unfortunately, like sexting, “SextCasting”™ can also create potentially devastating and life altering consequences within seconds, however unlike sexting, a SextCast™ is not isolated to a cell phone or PDA, and the consequences can be exponentially worse as they are farther reaching, more malicious, and almost impossible to contain once viral!

We are not back in the 1980’s where taking a risqué photo or video of yourself and hiding the footage in your closet (Responsibility 1.0) will diminish your risk of any (global) repercussions. Today, we use digital technologies and creating a risqué photo, video or webcast (i.e. “SextCasting”™) could cost you your entire life in a matter of seconds. Society must understand the difference between Responsibility 1.0 and Responsibility 2.1C (21st century responsibility).

For Example, search YouTube for “sexy dancing” or take a look at this public YouTube video that has been live for almost a year and seen 100,544 times (WARNING, this may not be safe for work and we do not condone minors viewing this material). Again, the aforementioned view count only includes YouTube, so who knows how many other places it is being watched, or how many people’s computers it has been saved to by now.

Notice that this (once personal) SextCast™ is now being commercialized by a company with an agenda who has saved, edited, branded, and re-released this video globally for their own financial benefit. This type of thing happens thousands, if not millions of times a day, most of the time without the individuals (in many cases tweens and teens) in the image, video, or webcast ever knowing. This is an example of an issue that has nothing to do with a cell phone or sexting, and that is far more prevalent, dangerous, and common in our current cyber culture.

They’ve said it before and they’ll say it again, and again, and again!

Despite the fact that the The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication has an effective method for dealing with the vast number of digital issues we are aware of like "sexting" and other Digital Disease, our nation and media seem to be content with treating these digital, 21st century issues, with an "old school" 20th century approach. Unfortunately, based on past and present headlines regarding "cyber bullying" and “sexting”, it appears our nation continues to fail an entire digital generation as now, an even bigger issue is upon us, and what’s worse is that this problem is approximately a decade old.

The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication has declared there are two primary types of “SextCasting”™:

1) A Private SextCast™: Whereby an individual(s) purposefully performs a risqué or sexual act in an image, a live webcam feed or pre-recorded video message specifically for another individual(s).

Example 1: A couple that provides each other with a live Private SextCast™ via their respective webcams while separated due to a business trip via Windows Messenger.
Example 2: The couple saved their private pre-recorded SextCasts™ to their password protected profile page on a popular social network (i.e. PhotoBucket).

2) A Public SextCast™: Whereby an individual(s) is purposefully performing a risqué or sexual act on a live webcam feed or recording their actions to knowingly post the content publically using digital technology (i.e. email, social network, website, message board, etc) for global viewing.

Example: The girl engaged in a Public SextCast™ via her webcam for hundreds of individuals over a popular social webcam network (i.e. Stickam).

According to The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication, the following examples are just two of the vast catastrophic outcomes that can result from a SextCast™.

1) An Unintended SextCast™: Whereby an individual(s) creates a Private SextCast™ unaware that the content is; (i) being stolen from their hard drive, (ii) being stolen from their password protected webpage, and/or (iii) their webcam feed is being watched and recorded by a third party via a hacker and spyware program which often leads to “Viral SextCasts™”.

Example 1: A girl broadcasting a sexually explicit action for her boyfriend over a live webcam was being recorded by an uninvited third party using a process used for spying on and recording webcam feeds (want proof this is possible, click here)
Example 2: The couple’s private (pre-recorded) SextCasts™ were downloaded by an unknown third party who hacked their password protected profile page on their social network (not likely or possible? Click here)

2) A Viral SextCast™: Whereby an individual’s Public or Private SextCast™ unknowingly becomes public and is spread globally (a.k.a. becomes viral) through email, social networks, websites or other digital technologies thus the content can be saved to private hard drives across the world and resurface again at any time.

Example 1: A girl broadcasting a Private SextCast™ for her boyfriend over a live webcam was being recorded by a third party using a popular process used for spying on and recording webcam feeds. The third party posts the (once private) SextCast™ to their (adult) website to drive more traffic to the website and more revenue from the advertisers.
Example 2: A couple’s private pre-recorded SextCasts™ were downloaded by an unknown third party who hacked their password protected profile page on their social network. The third party licensed the couple’s sexual actions or “SextCast” to various adult websites and adult message boards for money.

Cruisin’ With Kids, a Community Partner of The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication has provided us with the following example to illustrate just how serious and realistic the aforementioned outcomes can be. They have created a profile for their corporate mascot Cruiser on PhotoBucket.com, and (ONLY because we have obtained permission from Cruisin’ With Kids and I.R.O.C.2 to provide you with this access in hopes it will save you or a loved one’s life) we are going to provide you access to a photo inside this password protected account without logging in.

Here we go…

Step 1: Open a New Browser

You can reach the private account by clicking or copying and pasting the following link into the browser:

http://s695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/CruiserFox/

OBSERVATION: When you arrive at the account, you will notice it is password protected.

Step 2: Again, The Institute is providing this information to prove how dangerous the internet and “SextCasting”™ can be and why you need to understand I.R.O.C.2’s concept of Responsibility 2.1C.

Please click here to access a private photo in the password protected account.

OBSERVATION: Notice that you can see the picture of Cruiser Fox inside the account! You can save, it, share it, send it to a friend without Cruiser ever knowing.

Step 3: Now try and click the link over the image that says “CruiserFox”.

OBSERVATION: Notice you were directed to the log in page which means you were looking at private content without logging in, and without Cruiser knowing.

Hopefully, for your sake, if you have or do participate in “SextCasting”™, this very basic exercise will open your eyes to the dangers of poor judgment using digital technology, and help you understand how vital it is that you, me, everyone understand I.R.O.C.²'s concept of Responsibility 2.1C.

Like “Cyber Bullying” and “Sexting”, ““SextCasting”™ is an epidemic destroying our digital generation (young and old). Unbelievably, “SextCasting”™ has actually been prominent in our society for ~ 10 years, but the nation does not know about it because until now, there was no “buzz word” for the media’s headlines to describe this very serious trend.

Based on our nation’s current panic and struggle to deal with the “phenomenon” of sexting, The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication has no idea how the government, public or media will react to the aforementioned information and the very real issue of “SextCasting”™. However they are hopeful that alerting our nation about this decade old epidemic that has already (quietly) destroyed so many lives will help save this digital generation, and garner government, corporate, and public interest in how they save lives because these current issues will not be the last Digital Diseases our digital generation will face.

Despite all the media attention about cyber safety, not to mention all of the much larger safety organizations around with major funding, The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication, a (to date) self funded nonprofit seems to be the only organization thinking ahead and not reacting to new issues. They are the only organization that is committed to the proactive direct expert communication of Digital Responsibility 2.1C to a new generation and do not use reactive old school threats, reprimand and third party curriculum that is ineffective.

I will close with a quote from the Institute’s Executive Director:

Richard Guerry, the visionary behind the concept of "Responsibility 2.1C", and co-founder of The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication recently stated that "We as a nation need to provide direct proactive communication of Digital Responsibility (Responsibility 2.1C) to a new generation. We cannot be reactionary treating today's digital issues, and we cannot resolve them with 20th century threats, reprimand and curriculum." He went on to say, "The real problem is our youth has grown up learning what we call responsibility 1.0 or offline responsibility. They do not understand the scope of the repercussions when they invoke poor (digital) judgment because they have not been proactively taught digital responsibility or what we call, Responsibility 2.1C. We cannot apply 20th century solutions to 21st century issues."

To find out more about “SextCasting”™ and what sites you and your kids should avoid (or may already unknowingly be on), to contact their Speakers Bureau for an event, or to assist their efforts by becoming a supporter, sponsor, to make a donation, or to learn more about The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication please visit them on the web at www.iroc2.org or www.sextingisstupid.com.

“SextCasting”™ Summarized:
A SextCast™ or “SextCasting”™ is the process by which an individual(s) performs actions of a risqué or sexually explicit nature via a (live) webcam (or webcast), digital (image or video) camera, or other form of digital technology and sends and/or saves the content of their actions using digital technologies (i.e. a computer, camera card, email, social website, message board, etc).
Main Entry: Sext•Cast•ing
Function: noun
Etymology: 21st century, from Richard Guerry via The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication
Reference: Urban Dictionary