What is Phone Sex? Should Parents Panic If Their Kids Are Having it?

What is phone sex? Phone sex is a conversation between two or more people via the phone. The conversation is mainly sexually explicit, and it aims to provoke sexual arousal in the participants. It takes imagination on the participant's part, as both parties imagine virtual sex. One of the participants can engage in sexual fantasy or start to masturbate while describing a sexy scenario.

Why and How Do Teens Have Phone Sex?

According to the Pew Research Center, 88% of teenagers have access to mobile devices, and 90% of them communicate through text messages. Some teens use texts to express themselves sexually or sending sexually explicit pictures. With that in mind, here are some reasons why teens have phone sex.

1. Peer Pressure

Peer pressure can sway teenagers to do the unthinkable. If other teens are having phone sex, they can pressure your kid to also do it. Since they are your kid's friends, and they don't want to lose them, they may end up agreeing to have phone sex so that their friends can accept them in the group.

2. Out of Curiosity

Most teens have the burning desire to discover something that they don't know. Teens are also sexually curious by nature and are always asking themselves what is phone sex? Can it make me feel good? That's why they always want to try phone sex. Keep in mind that teenagers who have phone sex often become sexually active one year later.

3. To Express Love

There is nothing like experiencing the excitement of first love. Love trumps logic to an infatuated teenager, and that is exactly what happens when a teenager engages in phone sex. Teenagers can get wrapped up in emotional arousal that they forget that phone sex has numerous disadvantages.

What Are the Dangers of Phone Sex?

Engaging in phone sex exposes you to a world of dangers. They include:

• It is addictive

Phone sex is addictive and hard to quit once you start doing it. Teens become strong addicts to phone sex because it prompts the release of the feel-good hormone. Overexposure and habitual engagement to phone sex cause your brain to produce dopamine. When you are not engaging in phone sex, your brain will start producing less dopamine than before. In turn, this can result in your kid feeling dependent on phone sex. Sex addiction is difficult to identify or overcome since sex is known to be a natural part of life.

• Someone Can Share Your Photos with Others

What makes phone sex more dangerous is that your photos will stay online forever. It gets worse: Someone can decide to share your pictures with others. For example, the receiver of your explicit photos might share them with other people and ruin your reputation, which can be embarrassing to you. Also, phone sex might lead to bullying and name-calling when your texts and images fall into the wrong hands.

• There’s a Risk of Sexual Predators

Not every individual in the world has good intentions. The internet is a dark, dangerous place. Phone sex exposes your teen to sexual predators. Teens can have phone sex with strangers, and the stranger can ask them to meet in person. The latest research shows that 24% of kids aged between 8 and 17 have met a stranger face to face after online encounters. This is crazy: Your kid might meet with a sexual predator and end up being a victim of child sexual abuse.

• It Can Lead to Legal Issues

Having phone sex with a minor for sexual arousal is against the law and can be punishable by incarceration. Some regions prohibit the sending of nude photos and consider it child pornography. That is a hefty charge for a teenager to register your name as a sex offender. What's more? Registration can last for ten years or life.

• Some Can Access Your Personal Information

If someone can access your images, they can also get your phone number and other personal information and use them for fraudulent activities. Criminals can use this information to steal money from you or open fake accounts with your details.

Should Parents Panic if Their Kids have phone sex?

No. It is normal for young teens to get curious about sex. All parents need to do is to provide a proper guide.

Most teens can tell whether their parents are hiding information about something important. Parents should not worry about answering questions that their kids ask about sex. Instead, they should answer each question honestly and correctly to inform their children everything they need to know about phone sex.

6 Things Parents Need to Educate Kids on Phone Sex

• Consequences of Phone Sex

Explain to your child the dangers of phone sex - such as depression, legal issues - and the chances of becoming a victim of child sexual abuse. Also, tell them that phone sex can lead to sexual intercourse, which could result in an unplanned pregnancy. Explain to them that they should not send nude photos to strangers, as this could ruin their reputation if the person receiving these pictures decides to share them. Remind them that once they send explicit pictures, they can never retrieve them, and they lose control of them. Ask them how they would feel if their schoolmates, family members, or teachers saw the pictures. They should also know that it's illegal for an adult to have phone sex with a minor.

Keep in mind that you should not wait for something to happen to your kid before you tell them about the consequences of phone sex. While talking about phone sex with your child can be uncomfortable, it's better to teach them what they need to know before an incident occurs.

• The Changes They Will Experience When They Grow Up

As your child grows up and begins venturing into adolescence, the best decision to make is to help them learn about the changes that are happening to their body. When your teen is sexually active, you must talk to them and teach them how to deal with different situations.

• Teach Your Kids that They Should Act Responsibly

Tell your kid that if someone decides to send them explicit photos, they should delete them immediately. Teach them that they should be part of the solution, not the problem.

• Tell Them About the Pressures of Sending Nude Photos

Tell your kid that you understand how someone may dare or push them to send revealing photos of themselves. Let them know that no matter how huge social pressure can be, they should always remember that the potential social humiliation that they might experience can be thousands of times worse.

• Talk to Them About About Relationships

You should take a proactive approach by emphasizing what healthy relationships look like. Teach them how to handle relationships over social media. Tell them that if someone pressures them to send them naked photos, it doesn't mean that they love them.

• Use Apps Like FamiSafe

Apps like FamiSafe can help you to track your children's online activities so that you can keep them from coming into contact with harmful content. The app has the following features that can help you keep your child safe on the internet.

The supported features of FamiSafe cover monitoring, detecting, location tracking, and alerting. Here are some of its significant features.

YouTube Content Detection: FamiSafe can help you restrict your kids from accessing inappropriate content on YouTube, such as nudity and violence. You can check their YouTube history to see what they have been watching. The app also sends you notifications whenever your kid accesses inappropriate content on YouTube. You can then block the channels that have violent or explicit content.

Safe Search: The app allows you to block explicit or violent content from appearing on your kids' mobile browsers. In turn, this ensures that your kids only access appropriate content when they are performing a search.

Web Filtering: Famisafe uses advanced technology to view the content of the sites your child visits without slowing down their mobile device. It evaluates the content on that site to see if it's appropriate. If the content is inappropriate, FamiSafe will send you a notification stating that your kid has visited a site with violence or pornographic content. You can block these websites with FamiSafe so that your kid won't be able to access them through their device.

If you were asking yourself: What is phone sex, and is it dangerous to my kid? This article has answered your question. Parents should always keep track of what their kids are doing online. FamiSafe gives you an effective solution when it comes to tracking and keeping an eye on your kids' web activities.