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Digital sensitivity: A guide to sexting, sharenting and legal pornography
Mobile phones and the internet are making it easier and easier for children to come into contact with erotic or pornographic content at an increasingly early age. This cannot be prevented. Prevention in dealing with such content is therefore becoming increasingly important. Find out here what forms of legal pornography are available on the internet and what parents should look out for.
We also cover this topic in our courses at schools. What we offer schools: Media course for middle school pupils, ‘Chatting, liking, posting’, and media course for upper school pupils, ‘Phonesmart’.
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You will find these topics on this page:
- What is sexting and what are the dangers involved?
- When do erotic images count as pornography?
- And where does the responsibility lie for educating children about sexual dangers in the digital world – with you as parents?
- We also reveal what the term sharenting actually means.
You will find the following topics on this page
Sharenting: protecting children and raising awareness among parents.
Topic
Sexting
Sexting is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’ and refers to the direct digital and private exchange of self-produced photos or videos with slightly erotic or clearly sexual content. Young people engage in sexting to please others, to flirt or simply out of curiosity. However, sexting also carries risks: if the images fall into the wrong hands, they can quickly be forwarded and you soon lose control over the content.
What's more, if the images or videos are pornographic in nature, sharing and distributing them is illegal.
Topic
Sex sells
We share our private lives with others on social media. This makes us feel like we belong, and lots of likes on our holiday photos boost our self-esteem. Some adults also upload slightly erotic images to social media – the temptation to get more likes by showing more skin is great. The internet never forgets. This makes it all the more important to think twice about whether a post in a chat or on a social platform is okay.
Behaviour tips for parents
Position yourselves as parents as trustworthy caregivers with whom your child can talk about their experiences online.
Self-presentation on the internet
Discuss topics such as self-presentation on the internet: Which photos are risky? Current headlines can serve as a starting point for a conversation.
Suggestive images? Better not.
Advise your child not to post suggestive images online or save them on an unsecured mobile phone, tablet or laptop.
No personal details
Please note that images should not be linked to additional personal details such as name, place of residence or age.
‘Private’ does not necessarily mean secure
As a general rule, the internet never forgets, and data leaks or improper handling can expose such supposedly private content to the public.
Topic
Pornography
In general, sending pornographic content to young people under the age of 16 (the age of consent in Switzerland) is prohibited. Anyone who recruits children and young people under the age of 16 to produce pornographic content or allows them to participate in such content is also liable to prosecution. The law provides for a prison sentence of up to three years or fines.
But not everything is prohibited. Erotic (suggestive, lascivious) content is not pornography. But where does eroticism end and pornography begin? This distinction is not always easy to make. Swiss case law draws the line at pornography when the boundary of natural nudity is crossed and the sexual act is suggested, initiated or even performed in words or images. For example, depicting or suggesting an erect penis or other genitals in a lustful manner is declared pornography by a court.
Various Swiss studies show that most young people under the age of 16 have already viewed pornographic images. However, according to Swiss Crime Prevention, only a small proportion of young people exhibit problems such as addictive behaviour, an inability to distinguish between the illusory world of pornography and reality, a preference for extreme forms of pornography or illegal pornography when dealing with this content. Nevertheless, it is worrying that up to 50 per cent of young sex offenders are excessive consumers of pornography and some of them themselves admit that consuming pornography can encourage them to commit sexual offences.
Behaviour tips for parents
It is better to educate your children sooner rather than later. Sex education and open discussion help young people to understand pornographic content when they encounter it. Children who are well-informed and sexually self-determined are generally better protected against abuse.
Sexual content in the media
Whether it's an advertisement, a celebrity's online presence or a controversial scene in a film, use these media moments to talk together about their impact and implications.
Talking about taboo subjects
Show interest in your children's world and talk about taboo subjects too.
Take advantage of professional advisory services
Berner Gesundheit(opens in new tab) offers counselling for parents and guardians to address concerns about sexuality, love and sex education for your children.
The Zurich Centre for Sex Education(opens in new tab) Lust und Frust also provides information on questions and offers sex education courses.
Talk to your child's school. You can take advantage of services offered by education authorities or freelance sex therapists.
Topic
The gender shift
Boys watch porn, girls don't. That's the widespread assumption. The Swiss media usage study JAMESfocus has observed these developments among young people over the last ten years and now refutes the thesis that only boys watch porn. At least in part:
‘Girls consume this [pornography] more often than before, boys less often. Consumption preferences are less and less related to assigned gender roles and more to personal preferences,’ the authors of the study note.
The study thus emphasises the intertwining of women's emancipation with the increasing consideration of personal needs, which are also responsible for the gender shift in pornography. Furthermore, the porn industry has now recognised women as a target group and is increasingly producing ‘female-friendly’ films.
Behaviour tips for parents
Be aware of what can happen to your images online. As parents, be clear about your responsibilities and, if in doubt, refrain from sharing.
Think first, post later
Before publishing photos of your children, ask yourself whether or not this will violate your child's privacy.
Is that necessary?
Ask yourself whether the child's face really needs to be recognisable. Does the publication expose your child, put them at risk, or is the image simply “embarrassing” for your child?
How do others do it?
Various celebrities have become good role models and post all kinds of pictures with their children, but make sure that they are not shown in an unflattering light or are not recognisable at all.
Ask the child for permission
Ask your children for permission before posting photos of them online. By doing so, you are setting an example of media literacy and at the same time complying with the guidelines of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC): ‘The right to one's own image’.
Talk about it
Please also make other parents or grandparents aware of this issue.
Reporting centres
You are not alone
These organisations can help
This is important
- Sex sells. That's just the way it is, which is why the temptation to show a little more skin on social media in order to get more likes is so great.
- The idea that it is mainly boys who watch porn is widespread. But this is far from the truth: a gender shift is currently taking place, which even the porn industry has taken notice of.
- Whether it's sexting or sharenting, once private images fall into the wrong hands, things can quickly spiral out of control.
- As parents, talk about taboo topics and, if necessary, seek professional counselling services.
Useful links
Further content
Not sure how to start the conversation with your child or how to talk to them? These organisations and links can help.
Organisations
About the Swiss Child Protection Foundation(opens in new tab)
About Lust und Frust
(Centre for Sex Education Lust und Frust in Zurich)(opens in new tab)
About Berner Gesundheit(opens in new tab)
About Stopp Kinderpornografie
(Swiss crime prevention against paedophile crime)(opens in new tab)
About Click and Stop
(Anonymous reporting centre for child pornography content)(opens in new tab)
About Zischtig
(Course on sexuality and pornography)(opens in new tab)
Other interesting topics
Ask Michael
Michael In Albon is Swisscom's Youth Media Protection Officer. He is available to answer any questions you may have about children and media.
Michael In Albon
Youth Media Protection Officer,
Head of Schulen ans Internet (SAI)