Wanting to support consumers in sexting responsibly, Telenet consulted with Child Focus to develop the .comdom app: an easy to use smartphone application that functions as a digital condom, protecting its user against unwanted sharing of personal images by using a watermark. oona’s role was to position Telenet as a thought leader on the subject.
Public debate often frames these from a victim blaming perspective – “just don’t share nudes if you don’t want them to be leaked” But that’s like saying we just shouldn’t have sex if we don’t want to get assaulted.
— Annebeth Bels, Senior Communications Manager - oona
Sexting, sextortion and leaking of personal images are loaded subjects. Public debate often frames these from a victim blaming perspective – “just don’t share nudes if you don’t want them to be leaked”. But that’s like saying we just shouldn’t have sex if we don’t want to get assaulted. We wanted to emphasize that sexting has become a normal, healthy part of contemporary sexual expression, and that people have the right to do so safely. To steer the media conversation in the right direction, we worked with research results, expert opinion leaders and sex positive influencers.
oona set up a representative survey to measure the attitudes of Belgians about sexting, collaborating with digital media use researcher Dr. Mariek Van Den Abeele. In addition, oona organized a series of short form Smart Talks featuring authentic experts and opinion leaders on sexting and modern sexuality. These spokespersons provided the press with different vantage points: Dr. Joris Van Ouytsel dispelled myths about teen sexting behavior, TV-sexologist Wim Slabbinck talked about the positive role sexting can play in relationships, and feminist opinion leader and mother Jozefien Daelemans shared how she talks to her sons about consent and sexual imagery.
"We are often told by the media that sexting is dangerous and that it's best not to sext. However, research shows that it's something positive and even safe. Most young people have a positive experience with it; only a minority has a negative one. Therefore, it is important to make it clear to young people that it is okay to engage in sexting, but not to forward such photos, because by doing so, you inflict pain on the person in the photo. So it's about empathy, a sense of responsibility and respect for privacy. And that's why our sexual education should focus on pleasure and sex, but also address its dangers. This is how we make a shift: from sexting as something dangerous to sexting as something enjoyable. And if we can achieve that, sexting will become completely safe."
Wim Slabbinck, Sexologist
The experts were also asked to feature in roundtable talk during our press conference. The Smart Talks and the roundtable were published in the Telenet TV-theek and online. We also asked sex positive influencers to share the news with their followers. Instagram posts about the .comdom by Jitske Van De Veire and Lotte Vanwezemael were even picked up by news media in a second wave.
We were able to create a real media moment for sexting. And for once, it did not revolve around shaming anyone, except the people who should actually feel shame: those that distribute confidentially shared images to a third party.
— Annebeth Bels, Senior Communications Manager - oona
By working with strong voices like internationally renowned sexting scholar Dr. Joris Van Ouytsel, MNM-sexologist Lotte Van Wezemael and feminist opinion leader Jozefien Daelemans, we were able to create a real media moment for sexting. And for once, it did not revolve around shaming anyone, except the people who should actually feel shame: those that distribute confidentially shared images to a third party.
Sexten: één op de drie Belgen heeft het al eens gedaan, en onder jongeren ligt dat cijfer zelfs nog hoger. #TelenetGO helpt je veiliger sexten met digitaal condoom https://t.co/ShMWEBX8Wi.https://t.co/4LCdjKCbNp
— Telenet (@Telenet) November 25, 2019
