Sext Drives

The news that the sexting phenomenon has infested Henrico dismays. The fact that it is taking place at the middle-school level alarms. But neither development comes as a huge suprise.

Why should it? More than 30 percent of American adolescents have had sex by the ninth grade. More than 60 percent of high-school seniors have had sex. More than 6 percent of girls age 15-19 get pregnant each year. Henrico is not immune. The county's teen-age birth rate is higher than that of Chesterfield, Goochland, Hanover, New Kent, or Powhatan.

On the bright side, teenage pregnancy rates have declined during the past couple of decades. But technology, which has brought society many blessings, has its dark side. Henrico endured a scandal a few years back when students began using school-issued laptops to download Internet porn.

Sexting adds a disturbing new wrinkle. It takes sexual experimentation by young people out of the private realm into the quasi-public. It strips away not only clothing but also the intimacy and emotional bonding necessary for healthy relationships. It makes the participants vulnerable to exploitation, particularly by adults. The ease of image duplication puts young sexters in the position of the sorcerer's apprentice, unleashing forces they have no ability to contain. It is imperative that adults -- parents, school officials, and even law enforcement -- step in to do the containing for them.