With all the technology we have available to us today, it is possible to stay connected to another person literally 24/7. But have you ever stopped to think that available technology could come at a cost?
Cameras on our devices – iPods, smartphones, iPads—have the capability to capture any moment at any anytime and share it instantly with anyone in our network. While this can be innocent enough to keep up with grandma that happens to live out of state or to show dad something cute the baby just did, it is a very real fact that those handy cameras are also used to other moments.
The very same technology we hold in our hands as adults is the same that is available to our children/teens/tweens. It is this very convenience of technology that has created whole other world that has to define what is decent and proper for anyone below the age of eighteen.
Sexting is one word that has cropped up in modern culture due to the onslaught of pictures that have been transmitted via cellular device or computer. Whether the person that is in the picture is a child or the receiver of such picture is a child, it is illegal to distribute such materials in every state. And even the age of consent does not exclude a person of this law.
This topic inspired author Therese Fowler to write the best-selling novel, Exposure, based on her own horrific experience in dealing with her son's arrest sexting.
In the Author’s note of the book Ms. Fowler writes,
“The book is fiction, the characters drawn completely from my imagination. But the events that inspired this tale, and the emotions that color it…are real”
I received a copy to review. Once I opened the book, I could not put it down. Save for about sixty pages read the evening before, I literally read the book in one sitting.
To what I would equate to a 21st century Romeo and Juliet, the main characters Anthony and Amelia have done everything that they can think of to keep their romance a secret. As they are counting down the days until graduation, their hopes and dreams are shattered when Amelia’s overprotective father happens upon some photographs in her computer.
Regardless of Anthony and Amelia’s apparent love for one another, the law dictates what is right and wrong and we are taken through a rollercoaster ride of heart-wrenching emotions.
Therese Fowler has written a superb novel that vividly paints the picture on the cost of love and the decisions we are sometimes forced to make because of that love.
Tonight (July 14) at 9:00 EST, I will be part of an awesome group of ladies to talk about this book. We will be joined with Therese Fowler, herself. . If you’d like follow along with our book discussion, follow #SITSBooks.
Disclaimer: I did not receive any monetary compensation to write this post other than a copy of the book mentioned above. All opinions written here are mine. I wrote this post under my own free-will and had no obligation to do so. Special thanks to Andrea (@greatthoughts), Random House, and of course, Therese Fowler for making this all possible.
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2 comments:
Sounds like a novel I will have to check out.
So interesting! My kids are still really young, but I worry about their exposure, and how kids are growing up expecting less and less privacy.
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