SEXTING: JAMES' STORY

James, aged 17, talks about his experience of sexting girls. He hopes that his story will make others think before sending a sexual photo to someone.

"THERE ARE DEFINITELY RISKS INVOLVED"

"Sexting is really pretty normal at my age. My friends and I talk very openly about our experiences within our relationships and the sort of things we've sent each other. It seems like everyone's doing it.

"You do sometimes get a negative reaction to something you send, like people saying they've 'seen bigger'. It's embarrassing.

"I've seen images that have been sent to other people, or even sexual pictures of their ex partners, but I've never shared any myself – I don't think it's right.

" They called me a pervert and lots of people I knew saw it."

My first experience of sexting was with a girlfriend when I was 16. She suggested it as a way to keep in touch when we were apart for a few weeks.

"We started by sending sexual texts by Blackberry Messenger, then it progressed to pictures, voice notes and short videos. There are definitely risks involved. Someone saw a video message I had sent to a previous girlfriend took a screen shot and posted it online. They called me a pervert and lots of people I knew saw it – it was clearly me pictured.

"I was completely devastated and, to be honest, almost suicidal. I got the picture taken down eventually, but by that stage people had 'unfriended' me and the damage was done.

• ...if someone is pressuring you to do or send something you're not comfortable with, the best thing to do is to cut contact with them*

This is a really good example why we should not sext even tho its a real challenge for some people that i know, i guess a trustworthy person is the first rule of sexting

Link of the story : https://www.childline.org.uk/get-involved/real-life-stories/sexting-james-story/