If you are a kid, parent, teacher, reporter, or government agency still wrapped up with the phenomenon of "sexting", then much like the rapid development of digital technology, your digital knowledge and concerns are already outdated.

The difference between "Sexting" and "SextCasting" is very simple to explain. Sexting is simply a type or method of SextCasting.

A SextCast or SextCasting is a term created and defined by The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication as the process by which an individual(s) performs actions of a risqué or sexually explicit nature via a (live) webcam (or webcast), digital (image or video) camera, or other form of digital technology (e.g. a cell phone) and sends and/or saves the content of their actions using digital technologies (i.e. a computer, camera card, email, social website, message board, etc).

From a consequence standpoint, an incident of sextcasting in the form of sexting (as opposed to a live webcam feed or posting a video to YouTube), is easier to contain as law enforcement can insist that anyone who has received the image on their phone delete it or face penalties. Once an image, video, or webcam feed (sextcast) is posted somewhere on the internet and not isolated to cell phones, the sextcast can instantly become viral and virtually impossible to contain.

Did you know that there are tens of thousands of websites that use stolen sextcasts as their own content, generating revenue for themselves by exploiting you or your kid's "private" moments?

As advancements and access by minors to technology such as free webcams, free blogs, message boards and social sites have evolved, sextcasting has become more than a trend, but a frightening epidemic far too common in our society. SextCasting is an epidemic destroying our digital generation (young and old), and after ~ 10 years of damage our global community can no longer afford to be ignorant to this very serious issue.

According to the Executive Director for The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communication, "Prior to the very recent explosion of digital disease like sexting, society's primary concern about the internet was how to keep kids off of pornographic websites. Thanks to the continual rapid evolution of digital technology with no proactive or concurrent communication about how to responsibly utilize these new gadgets, keeping kids off of pornographic websites is a prehistoric concept as we now battle to keep our kids from becoming the producers and providers of pornographic content. This is why everyone who uses digital technology must understand 21st century responsibility or Responsibility 2.1C."

You don’t need a cell phone or to “sext” to ruin your life in seconds. “SextCasting”™ is an issue that has already destroyed thousands of lives way before cell phones had text messaging, cameras, or were in the hands of everyone over the age of 13 (just ask Ms. Paris Hilton or Ms. Pamela Anderson).

While much of the world is still trying to deal with, understand, and react to the latest digital trends of “sexting”, and “cyber bullying” it appears that this much larger, and more dangerous “practice” has managed to continuously slip through the cracks for approximately a decade, until now.

“SextCasting”™ (Sext•Cast•ing) has been one of the internet’s deepest and darkest secrets that The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication is about to bring to the world’s attention.

A SextCast or “SextCasting” is the process by which an individual(s) performs actions of a risqué or sexually explicit nature via a (live) webcam (or webcast), digital (image or video) camera, or other form of digital technology and sends and/or saves the content of their actions using digital technologies (i.e. a computer, camera card, email, social website, message board, etc).

Unfortunately, like sexting, “SextCasting”™ can also create potentially devastating and life altering consequences within seconds, however unlike sexting, a SextCast™ is not isolated to a cell phone or PDA, and the consequences can be exponentially worse as they are farther reaching, more malicious, and almost impossible to contain once viral!

We are not back in the 1980’s where taking a risqué photo or video of yourself and hiding the footage in your closet (Responsibility 1.0) will diminish your risk of any (global) repercussions. Today, we use digital technologies and creating a risqué photo, video or webcast (i.e. “SextCasting”™) could cost you your entire life in a matter of seconds. Society must understand the difference between Responsibility 1.0 and Responsibility 2.1C (21st century responsibility).

For Example, search YouTube for “sexy dancing” or take a look at this public YouTube video that has been live for almost a year and seen 100,544 times (WARNING, this may not be safe for work and we do not condone minors viewing this material). Again, the aforementioned view count only includes YouTube, so who knows how many other places it is being watched, or how many people’s computers it has been saved to by now.

Notice that this (once personal) SextCast is now being commercialized by a company with an agenda who has saved, edited, branded, and re-released this video globally for their own financial benefit. This type of thing happens thousands, if not millions of times a day, most of the time without the individuals (in many cases tweens and teens) in the image, video, or webcast ever knowing. This is an example of an issue that has nothing to do with a cell phone or sexting, and that is far more prevalent, dangerous, and common in our current cyber culture.

Despite the fact that the The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication has an effective method for dealing with the vast number of digital issues we are aware of like "sexting" and other Digital Disease, our nation and media seem to be content with treating these digital, 21st century issues, with an "old school" 20th century approach. Unfortunately, based on past and present headlines regarding "cyber bullying" and “sexting”, it appears our nation continues to fail an entire digital generation as now, an even bigger issue is upon us, and what’s worse is that this problem is approximately a decade old. 

Despite all the media attention about cyber safety, not to mention all of the much larger safety organizations around with major funding, The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication, a (to date) self funded nonprofit seems to be the only organization thinking ahead and not reacting to new issues. Tare the only organization that is committed to the proactive direct expert communication of Digital Responsibility 2.1C to a new generation and do not use reactive old school threats, reprimand and third party curriculum that is ineffective.