[Editor note: it's been over three years since I've seen any new study data on teen sexting, and I was beginning to wonder if it was a case of culture creep, where a behavior that was once concerning and well-covered in research had lost researchers' interest as the culture no longer considers the behavior outside of the accepted norms. So, I'm glad to see the release of an updated study on sexting, finally. Spoiler alert: sexting and (no surprise) pornography are still challenging issues that today's teenagers face.]
The following is excerpted from an online article posted by HealthDay.
A high number of preteens and teens in the United States have viewed pornography and many have also sent or received nude or seminude photos -- sexting -- over their smartphones, a new study reveals.
"The prevalence rates we found in this study suggest that school counselors must be prepared to talk about sexting and pornography use with students, and to change the narrative about these behaviors," said Amanda Giordano, lead author of the study and an associate professor in the University of Georgia Early College of Education, in Athens.
"It's important that students know that sending a sext is not a new requirement for romantic relationships and that pornography does not reflect expectations for sexual activity," Giordano added in a university news release.
For the study, the researchers questioned 350 students, aged 12 to 17 years. The investigators found that 15% had sent a sext to someone. About 25% had ever received a sext. About 25% had ever been asked to send a sext. About 12% said they had felt pressure by someone to send a sext in the past year.
This pressure was concerning because of the unintended consequences of sexting, such as having the picture forwarded to others, put online or used as a form of blackmail to get the person to meet other demands, the researchers said.
About 50% of adolescents said they had been exposed to pornography. On average, kids were exposed to pornography for the first time at age 11.5 — typically the age of American 6th graders and younger than previous studies have suggested.
Increased smartphone access among teens and the ease of finding free internet pornography likely drove that age drop, Giordano said.
More than one in three of the participants said they had viewed pornography at least once in the previous year. And 8% of the students said they watched pornography about every day.
Pornography use was significantly more common among males, the study found.
The study was published online recently in Professional School Counseling.
Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/sexting-2658832421.html
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