This study confirms that Teens who "sext" are likely to participate in sexually explicit behaviors.
What is Sexting ?
Sexting is sending sexually explicit messages via cell phone or instant messenger. As technology has advanced and cell phones have the capability to record and send photos and video, the practice of sending suggestive and explicit pictures has increased, especially among teens.
There is no clear cut definition of sexting, for the purpose of this discussion; we will define sexting into categories of involuntary and voluntary.
Voluntary -
Can be illegal because of child pornography laws (this is only relevant to photos), but the sender is voluntarily sending the photo/message of themselves.
Voluntary Examples:
- A few junior high school girls are at a slumber party and use their cell phones to take and send topless photos of themselves to each other.
- A high school boy emails a nude photo of himself to a high school girl he met on a social networking website, who asked him to send the photo.
Involuntary -
Automatically illegal even if the underage sender consents to sending the photo/message. It cannot be considered voluntary if it breaks any law (state, local, or federal) except for child pornography laws.
Involuntary Examples:
- A 45 year old male meets a high school girl on the Internet and encourages her to send him nude photos of herself. She takes nude photos of herself using a digital camera and emails them to the man.
- A high school boy sends a sexually explicit text message with no images attached, to a much younger child.
- A high school girl voluntarily sends a photo of herself to her boyfriend. They break-up shortly after the photo is sent. He then sends the photo to all of his friends and classmates.
*While she voluntarily sent the photo to her boyfriends, he didn't have her consent to send the photo around to other people.
- A high school boy received a photo on her cell phone depicting an adult having sexual intercourse with a toddler.
(His innocent receipt of such a photo should not result in him being charged with a crime; it is the sender that should be identified for potential prosecution.)
- A high school girl sends a photo of herself semi-nude to her teacher.
(While the girl sent the photo voluntarily, the receipt was unsolicited by the teacher. It does break sexual harassment laws.)
Why Is Sexting a Problem?
For generation upon generation, young people and adults have been exchanging sexually suggestive and explicit letters, messages and other materials, so sexting shouldn't come as a big surprise. On the other hand, the ease with which photos and videos can be propagated is a concern. A photo shared between two people can quickly become a viral phenomenon. We have seen this happen with various celebrity photos and sex videos over the past few years.
•Photos and videos sent privately can easily be shared with others.
•Once digital images are out there, they leave a digital footprint, especially online. You can't "take it back."
•51% of teen girls cite pressure from guys as a reason to send explicit messages, while only 18% of teen boys say so. This is of concern where there is already a power imbalance in a relationship or an issue with self-esteem.
•Sexting is currently illegal under federal law. It falls under the creation, distribution and possession of child porn and is a felony offense. While some lawmakers are working to change this, others are prosecuting both those taking the pictures and those possessing them.
What Can Parents Do about Sexting?
The best approach to talking about sexting is to take a non-judgmental and informational approach. Keeping the dialogue open leaves room for your kids to talk with you rather than hiding things away. Remember that the word "sexting" was coined by the press. Kids may have a different name for it. Try some simple conversation starters to break the ice:
•Have you heard about this sexting thing? Do you know anything about it?
•I was watching TV/reading the news the other day and saw a story about some kids who got in trouble for sending [use your own word here - suggestive, sexy, naked, etc.] pictures to friends. Did you hear about that?
•Can we talk about the types of things you and your friends like to share online? I want to make sure you're taking care of yourself and looking out for your friends, as well.
New Research- Promiscuous Behavior in Teens Linked To Sexting
Watch your teens before that get more spoiled…
Teens who "sext" are likely to participate in sexually explicit behaviors. Teens who "sext" are significantly more likely to participate in sexually explicit behaviors, according to a recent study. Sexting, which is the practice of texting sexual messages, including photos, usually by use of cell-phones, is rapidly becoming popular among adolescents, which should be concerning to parents, doctors and teachers. This recent report shows there has been an alarming increase since a 2011 study which claimed that only 2.5% of American kids were sexting. On the other hand, a study published in July in the journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, which claimed that 1 in 4 teens have sent a nude
picture of themselves to another person, and that sexting results in associated sexual behavior, coincides with the new evidence. The new trial, published in Pediatrics, looked at data from over 1,800 high school students in Los Angeles. Of the teens with cellphones, 54% said they had friends who sext, while 15% reported that they themselves had participated in sexting. Adolescents who reported taking part in this type of texting were found to be more sexually experienced than those who do not send the provocative text messages. They were also more likely to engage in unprotected sex. African American, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals who were involved in the study reported more sexting than the other individuals.
The authors write, Sexting, rather than functioning as an alternative to 'real world' sexual risk behavior, appears to be part of a cluster of risk sexual behaviors among adolescents. We recommend that clinicians discuss sexting as an adolescent-friendly way of engaging patients in conversations about sexual activity, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, and unwanted pregnancy. We further recommend that discussion about sexting and its associated risk behavior is included in school-based health curricula.
According to information released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 40% of adolescents have said that they are sexually active, and only two-thirds of these teens reported using protection.
(Source- Pediatrics)
