sexting...rephrased.

The Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina is sexting....a lot.

The group developed an initiative in which anyone in the state can text an anonymous question (generally reproductive health related) to the BirdsNBees text line. The number belongs to one cell phone that is manned (or womanned) 24/7 by a member of the campaign, and whoever texts it will get an answer within 24 hours. Brilliant!

I think that this is such an amazing idea. While I'd like to picture a utopian society in which young women are not ashamed or scared to ask the burning questions of sex, relationships, and all that goes into to getting to know one's 'private parts,' the reality is that we're not quite there yet. And if I've learned anything in nursing school thus far, it's to meet people where they're at, or else it will be damned near impossible to get on the same page. That's exactly what this service is doing! It not only says publically "it's okay to ask these questions," but it also makes it accessible for those who aren't ready to ask anyone face-to-face just yet.

I've been thinking that a project like this (perhaps expanded on a much larger scale) could be an awesome and successful undertaking. I would love to do a project in which I develop a similar text line, and maybe include other accessible technologies. The fact of the matter is...it's crucial to meet young people where they are at! We text all the time. We go online all the time. But there's no definitive place to get reliable information. Maybe this could be a solution. We already have text lines that you can text ANY question and get a live response within minutes. There's ChaCha (free) and kgb (not free), both of which are becoming well known and making ANY sort of knowledge at our fingertips. I don't know about anyone else, but I want my repro-health specific info coming from someone reliable, or else I'd just go to google. A specialized, free, no-hassle, text service that replies within minutes. Amazing.

For now, I welcome any and all [anonymous] questions. I can't text ya back just yet, but stay tuned!