Sexting: at least 15 percent of teens take part
The Pew Research Center releases a survey of young cellphone owners and sexting 鈥� sending or receiving sexually provocative pictures on phones.
How many teens are 鈥渟exting鈥�?
According to by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, some 15 percent of cellphone owners between 12 and 17 years old have received nude or nearly nude photos on their phones. Fewer 鈥� about 4 percent 鈥� admit to having sent such images themselves.
An that came out earlier this month has slightly higher numbers: About a third of young people (ages 14 to 24) surveyed said they receive e-mails or text messages with sexual words or images. About 1 in 10 said he or she shared a naked photo of oneself electronically.
鈥淭he numbers overall are relatively low ... but there鈥檚 also this 鈥榩ass around' phenomenon,鈥� says Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at Pew and author of the study. 鈥淭his is an issue that touches a lot of teens indirectly, if not directly.鈥�
It鈥檚 not a surprising phenomenon, Ms. Lenhart and others say: The factors driving it 鈥� teenagers wrestling with sexuality and relationships and often using poor judgment 鈥� have been around far longer than cellphones or the Internet. But when those factors are combined with the far reach and permanence of today鈥檚 technology, it can be dangerous.
At least two teenagers committed suicide after sexts they sent were passed around widely and used to harass them. While those are the extreme, far more teens face risks of basic embarrassment, bullying, or regret when the images reach people who they鈥檇 prefer didn't see them.
Kids are often surprised to learn that distributing a photo with nudity could make them guilty of felonies related to child pornography, says Parry Aftab, executive director of and an adviser to MTV鈥檚 "" project, which is trying to help combat digital abuse. She reminds them that even if they completely trust the person they鈥檙e sending images to, his friends, siblings, or parents may end up getting on his phone and seeing or distributing the images.
鈥淚 tell kids the five P鈥檚,鈥� Ms. Aftab says. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want your parents, your principal, a predator, the police, or your potential coach, college recruiter, or boss to see it, don鈥檛 post it publicly.鈥�
Often, teens send sexts as an alternative to engaging in actual sex, Aftab says, and they rarely think about the consequences.
Aftab advises parents to consider all the motives when talking to kids, as well as to focus less on the 鈥渟ex鈥� part of the issue 鈥� since they鈥檙e likely to tune out lectures about being celibate. Instead, parents should focus on the potential consequences and harassment that can result from sexting.
Sexting is likely to increase with age, the Pew study found. Among 17-year-olds with cellphones, 8 percent had sent a sexually provocative image, and 30 percent had received one on their phone. There was no difference between genders.
Discussions with focus groups revealed that some teens felt pressured into sending the images: 鈥淭his was a social or emotional currency they needed to share to stay in a relationship,鈥� Lenhart says. The discussions also found three main kinds of sexting: images exchanged just between romantic partners; exchanges between partners that are shared with others; and exchanges between people not in a relationship, although one person hopes to be.
鈥淲hat we have going on here is the technology making visible things that have been going on for ages,鈥� says Lenhart. 鈥淏ut [these images] have the potential to come back to haunt you when you鈥檙e older. For most teens, that鈥檚 probably the biggest risk involved in sending and sharing these messages.鈥�
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