Are Sex Education Text Message Tip-Lines Truly Anonymous?
May 4th, 2009 MobileFreak
Teenagers in some states are being encouraged to send their questions about sex to an “anonymous” text message tip-line. How can they be sure their questions are anonymous since the organization receiving the texts can see the mobile phone number of the person texting in the question?
In North Carolina for example, The Birds and The Bees Text Line provides replies to sex-related questions from local teens. But is it truly anonymous? Can’t they see the phone number of the person sending in the text and do a reverse phone lookup (or just search for the number online)?
This is an example of why we offer a truly anonymous text messaging tool, where the message does not contain any information about the sender unless the sender explicitly provides it. It’s very popular, and it works on most US carriers.
Regardless, it is an interesting service and while these exist in several states already, none of them appear to be supported by the state themselves, for obvious political reasons.
What would you think of these organizations providing answers to critical questions for your son or daughter? Is it better than the alternative of searching online or asking their friends for answers?
Entry Filed under: News,The List
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I’m not sure how to confront this divorced guy I’ve been dating for 3 months about the text msgs he sends/receives to this young woman he works with. He is divorced 1 year and he and I are both in our late 30s.
For security reasons, anonimity of the senders must be prioritzed. Actually, I am into giving advice to teenagers who get confused about sex-related problems. Thanks for the post.