The Media’s View on Sexting: The Case of Adam Allen
Trust is one of the most fundamental aspects to have in a relationship. Without trust, the foundation of a relationship is no longer what it used to be. Adam Allen broke his ex-girlfriend’s trust by sharing her explicit photos from when they were dating with her family, friends, and teachers (Hasinoff, 2017). Allen basically just took the trust his ex-girlfriend had with him and stomped all over it, acting like the trust they had built before their breakup meant nothing in the heat of the moment. Allen was labelled as a sex offender, and his ex-girlfriend was shamed for sending those types of pictures in the first place. Despite all these facts, the real question is, was Adam Allen wrongly convicted or was justice served for what he did?
I believe that Allen got what we deserved. What happened to Allen was a classic case of acting out of anger, and look where that got him. Allen had no right to share those explicit pictures of his ex-girlfriend. Although I agree that Allen is wrong for sharing those photos, I think it was a bit harsh for him to register as a sex offender under the law. Allen did an interview on Good Morning America and stated that he was just a stupid kid that sent the pictures across email and that he wasn’t thinking at the time; He also did an interview with CNN stating the same thing: an upset, tired, immature kid (Hasinoff, 2017). In this case, the media did Allen a favour and showed care in stating that his sex offender label was too harsh for something that was a mistake and lack of thinking. Larry Walters, Allen’s attorney, said, “if sexting teens are required to register, the sex offender registry may lose its impact by diluting its importance” (Hasinoff, 2017). I agree with this statement because I don’t think that Allen has dangerous intentions of what a sex offender is supposed to have. I also agree that the media did a good thing in highlighting that his sentence was too harsh. Still, they failed to consider how labelling his ex-girlfriend as partially responsible would affect the situation.
The media had no right to blame his ex-girlfriend, the real victim in this unfortunate situation. His ex-girlfriend sent Allen those pictures in confidence that nobody else but him would see, no matter what happened. The trust that she had in him was huge and for him to expose her photos over a petty teenage argument is wrong on all levels. Hasinoff (2017) states that girls who are victims of privacy violations often face sexist victim-blaming and slut-shaming. The media showed no care towards his ex-girlfriend and was quick to put part of the blame onto her. There are two people in every relationship, and blaming the person that did nothing wrong to deflect the real situation at hand, is not and will never be the right thing to do.
We have to consider the facts of this case to have an informed decision. Was Allen in the wrong for sharing the explicit pictures? Yes. Was his ex-girlfriend wrong for sending Allen those pictures? No. Should Allen have to register as a sex offender? Absolutely not. Should he still be held accountable for what he did? 100%.
Allen did a classic case of “I didn’t know any better” or “I was tired and immature,” which can be used in other instances, but not this one. Allen did not show care for his ex-girlfriend and acted out of anger from an argument. He had no right to share those pictures with other people and broke her trust while doing so. Despite this, the media had no right to blame his ex-girlfriend for sending him those pictures because she is free to send whatever she wants to whoever she wants and trusts. In cases like these, it is better to think before you act.
References
Hasinoff, A. A. (2017). Sexting and privacy violations: A case study of sympathy and blame. International Journal of Cyber Criminology, 11(2), 202–217. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1037391
