Dear Parents and Trusted Adults:

The key to understanding what is going on is education. Know what the kids are seeing, learning or sharing with their peers. Here’s a list of “secret emojis.” They may look innocent but they are not. Communicate with your children. Talk openly because right now the predators are winning. Are you scared? You should be because it is all true.

It is no secret that texting is a part of most people’s everyday life. It’s the preferred method of communication for many, especially teens. Some argue that it has even contributed to the breakdown of interaction and to the acquisition of social skills.

Let’s start with a quick breakdown. Emojis are symbols, or ideograms, that depict an idea or object rather than using words when texting. They allow an individual to say something without actually having to say it. When we look at it that way, it’s no surprise that today we are seeing more and more people — especially young people — use emojis when sexting (sexually explicit messaging).  Emojis came on the scene around the year 2000 when users were able to download or copy various symbols from smileydictionary.com to use on their cell phones. Then as smartphones emerged, apps were available to download and add the symbols directly to the device’s keyboard. When the popularity for the applications soared, both Apple and Android made them part of the standard keyboards available on all devices. Below we have prepared a picture dictionary of the most common emojis used for sexting. Read on with caution as some of the images you are about to see might be offensive.

Finding something like this on your child’s phone or in their online messages can be shocking. For more great tips on how to handle these or situations like these, look into more of our informative articles here. We have also put together a book, 30 Days to a Stronger Child, that provides more information on this and other topics available on Amazon. Oh, and don’t forget to check out our resources page.