Charges against 'sexting' teenagers highlight legal gaps by Alexandra Essay

Charges against 'sexting' teenagers highlight legal gaps by Alexandra Marks - Essay Example While the government is doing its best to protect young people from exploitation in ways it believes are most appropriate, some strongly hold the contrary view that teenagers of today would grow up fine, the same way those before them did, without the need of arbitrary laws that often stereotype and brand them as something they are not or, worse, turn them into something that society abhors-criminals. The article, moreover, elucidates that many of today's minors are being punished to suffer a penalty for something that some members of society do not even essentially consider as sin. According to them, there are certain things whose magnitude demands for formal social controls (in the form of laws controlling such behavior), yet there are things that are best dealt with within the family, as they have always been dealt with in the past few years. This issue connects with every facet of social structure by triggering differing opinions on the gravity of the matter as an issue of right and wrong, legal and illegal. Indeed, what is legal does not necessarily mean to be also moral, and vice versa. It is to be noted that every social strata, group, organization, and institution has its own perception of good or bad that, as expected and is but natural, would often come at variance with that of other units of society as explained by its differing social orientations. It is to be remembered that each of these units have influenced in one way or the other the shaping of these teenagers, as well as the shaping of laws and society's general sentiment on the issues. What the Issue Says about Our Society This issue tells us that society is a complex web of differing individuals that shape it and, in turn, are likewise shaped by it. The complexity of how society works is founded on the interplay of several aspects, such as power, values and norms, and shared or differing views of life in general. Societal values and norms, for example, determine what ways of doing things are acceptable to society and is often the main basis upon which laws are founded, though some concepts pertaining to power and influence cannot be discredited as well. Indeed, some are more powerful and influential than others; thus, they are more able to impose their perceived values and norms upon the entire society. Also, there is often, always a variation in what people may perceive as a shared view among everyone in a society. While most people agree that teenagers need moral guidance or protection, some prefer stringent measures, while others believe that such things are best resolved within the confines of the home and should only be discussed between parents and children. For in society's effort to save these children, it could instead lead it further astray, which takes a herculean effort to reverse. The Relationship between the People Involved and the Larger Society or Community While the people involved may not feel strongly that this issue is of a matter public concern, still there are some who believe that they exercise a moral responsibility to society as a whole. The latter feel that it is their bounden duty to protect the morals of society. It, however, should be noted that while a teenager may only look at the issue of sexting from his or her viewpoint, our