Social Media and Sexting Intervention: A New Juvenile Diversion Program

Between consenting adults, the private electronic sharing of nude photos is generally not illegal. However, when adolescents mimic this adult behavior they are in possession of child pornography and/or engaging in the pandering of child pornography, both of which are crimes in the United States. To address this fairly new adolescent social "sexting" problem, the Social Media & Sexting Intervention Program was created. This is a curriculum based juvenile diversion program recently established in two counties in Wisconsin. The purpose of the current study was to provide a preliminary evaluation assessing the impact of the program. During the first year of the program, 66 adolescents were referred to the program by school resource officers and courts in the two counties. Of those 66 referrals, 61 adolescents were able to participate in the program. A pre/post-test design was used to assess knowledge gained and attitude changes. Overall, the results of the assessment indicate that the program is educationally promising. Perhaps just as importantly, the program protects adolescents from an overly punitive justice system.