Sometimes, I find myself indulging in utopian-tech wishful thinking: imagine if my iPhone could project videos onto a wall so I didn’t have to squint while watching the most unlikely people do the mannequin challenge, or you know, what if the battery life lasted for the whole day?

It seems that junior doctors’ Person of the Year winner Jeremy Hunt also indulges in a bit of digital daydreaming. Speaking to the Commons health committee about cyber-bullying, the health secretary floated the idea that if tech companies really put their mind to it, they could prevent young people from sexting one another nude pictures.

Apparently that is all it takes to constrain a teenagers libido: a parental lock. But any 14-year-old boy who has circumvented the porn parental lock on his parent’s wifi by using the 4G on his phone will testify that where there is a will, there is a way. Sending and receiving “nude selfies” is already illegal if you are under 18 and even that hasn’t stopped teenagers from doing it. You see, if you are a sexually curious raging bag of hormones you will Snapchat, Whatsapp, Instagram message, iMessage, Facebook message, Facetime, telegram, tweet, email, and/or carrier pigeon your way to exploring your sexuality. And there’s nothing Jeremy Hunt can do about it.

Parents have been trying to stop their teenagers from bonking each other for time immemorial, but there is an understandable rationale behind the latest incarnation of parental moral panic.

MPs involved in sex scandals Show all 9 1 /9 MPs involved in sex scandals MPs involved in sex scandals Mark Oaten Mark Oaten resigned as a senior member of the Liberal Democrats in 2006 after the News of the World revealed he had paid rent boys to perform sexual activities on him. He openly spoke about the affect it had on his family life and career in his book 'Screwing Up' Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals Simon Danczuk He admitted to sending inappropriate texts to a 17-year-old Sophena Houlihan and calls are being made for him to resign from his role as Labour's Rochdale MP. He reportedly blamed a drinking problem on his sexually explicit messages Reuters MPs involved in sex scandals Brooks Newmark Brooks Newmark resigned form his role as a Conservative member of parliament for Braintree, Essex in 2014 after being caught sending explicit photos, involving paisley pyjamas, to an undercover journalist Rex MPs involved in sex scandals Lord Lambton Lord Lambton, a Conservative MP, was pictured in bed with two prostitutes and smoking a joint in 1973, the same year he resigned. He initially denied it, but later said he had a multitude of affairs after he was bored with his job Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals Bob Blackman Robert Blackman, a Conservative MP had an 11 year affair with another Conservative councillor, which came out after he said marriage can only work between “one man and one woman” Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals Nigel Griffiths Nigel Griffiths, former MP for Edinburgh South, admitted cheating on his wife of 30 years with an un-named woman after a Sunday tabloid produced photographs of the affair on a sofa in his Parliamentary office Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals John Major Former Prime Minister John Major and former MP Edwina Currie’s four year affair began in 1984 and lasted four years. The affair came out in 2002 when Ms Currie serialised her diaries in The Times BBC News/Getty Images MPs involved in sex scandals John Prescott The then deputy Prime Minster to Tony Blair had a two year affair with his appointments secretary, Tracey Temple 43, came to light in 2006. He said: "I did have a relationship with her which I regret. It ended some time ago" Getty MPs involved in sex scandals Paddy Ashdown Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, was nicknamed "Paddy Pantsdown" in 1992 after he was forced to disclose a five year affair with his secretary, Tricia Howard. He admitted the affair to his wife BBC

Until recently, the negative consequences of teenage furtive fumbling were pregnancy, STIs and classroom gossip. Now we add naked images that can be saved and used for blackmail, “sextortion”, bullying, or worse.

So as with the plain old slightly awkward missionary sex that teenagers dabble in, it isn’t going to go away anytime soon and we need to teach when it is safe, or not safe, to engage in this behaviour.

This is why the Government’s response to yesterday’s Women and Equalities Committee report to make sexual education compulsory in schools is so senseless. The Committee found that Sex and Relationship (SRE) education in schools in inadequate and there is widespread sexual harassment and violence in schools. The Government replied: “The case for further action on PSHE and SRE delivery is actively under review”. Translated from Whitehall waffle that means: “We don’t plan to act on your advice anytime soon.”

Just like normal sex, teenagers are made to feel like everyone is doing it or that their partners will love them more if they do it. On the flipside, those asking for and sharing the images often aren’t aware of the implications of their actions. Once all teenagers understand this message, it will socially reproduce itself in conversations both online and offline.

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