Last Thursday morning, I saw two related stories on sexting.  In the Washington Post, education reporter Valerie Strauss reported that Montgomery County police were investigating a sexting scandal after a school principal discovered an iPod Touch at school containing inappropriate photos of high school and middle school female students, which were being sold and bought by other students. 

In the Los Angeles Times, four teenage boys in San Bernardino County were cited for posting “nude and seminude” pictures of their 14- and 15-year-old female classmates on the Internet. The photos ended up on the internet, and all four boys were cited for possession of harmful matter depicting a person under 18 and for sexual exploitation of a minor.

Also last week, Microsoft announced the launch of the Kin, a new cell phone that emphasizes social networking and messaging -- a product  aimed at 15-30 year olds, or what Microsoft calls the “social generation.” On Friday, the Kin Web site launched with a promotional video that featured a scene that seemed to encourage the act of sexting.  In the video, a young man is shown lifting up his shirt and taking a photo of his bare chest and then sending it to a young woman. 

Given that over the last year, it seems like every week we read about a new technology-driven controversy on middle and high school campuses across America, I was shocked and, honestly, baffled, to see that Microsoft chose to showcase the features of its new phone via an act that just comes too close to sexting.  It was both irresponsible and outrageous for an industry leader like Microsoft to take a form of digital abuse and position it as “cool and hip” in order to sell a new product that is directly targeted to a teen audience.

On Friday morning, after receiving many complaints from concerned citizens, including Consumer Reports and Common Sense Media, Microsoft did the right thing and pulled the ad. But what really concerns me is that Microsoft didn’t think there was an issue in the first place.  There seems to be a disconnect between the “social generation” and the rest of society.

But there are things we can do about this:

Education.  We have to understand what our kids are doing in their digital lives and to work together to get the message out that online actions have offline consequences. As a nation, we all have a stake in how our kids grow, develop, and ultimately choose to lead in this digital world in which we all live. We have a responsibility to educate kids to become smart digital citizens – and that entails educating ourselves, too.

Advocacy.  Parents and educators, you are on the front lines dealing with these issues every day.  Let your voice be heard.  Get involved at your kids’ schools and recommend that they implement a digital literacy program to educate students and teachers. Email your elected officials and tell them that there is a need for education on sexting, cyberbullying, and digital abuse in your community.

If there is one thing we all know, it is that technology is not going anywhere.  It is already at the center of our kids’ lives – whether it’s for education, play, or socializing. If there is another thing we all know, it is that marketers and advertisers do not always have the best interest of parents and kids in mind. It would be naïve for anyone to expect corporations to make the correct choice in ad campaigns when the reality is that kids and young adults are important targets for their bottom line. We should all take notice, wake up, and take these media issues seriously, so that we can ensure our kids get the best of what’s out there.