A survey was distributed by the National Campaign and some alarming statistics were revealed regarding teens that sent text messages with lewd and sexual content. I know that most teens and tweens have a cellphone and I also know that most parents are not aware of what is being sent from those phones. The statistics below illuminate the fact that sexting is not as uncommon as people may have once thought it was. This is part one of my blog post on teen sexting. This week I would like to share the startling statistics about this common cell phone activity and then later discuss the consequences of sexting and share some tips for parents.
WHAT IS SEXTING?
Sexting is defined as sending provocative personal images or video via cell phone or other electronic device, but they do not include spam or sexy images of people you do not know personally.
WHO SENDS SEX TEXTS?
The percent of teenagers who have sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves:
20% of teenagers overall
22% of teen girls
18% of teen boys
11% of young teen girls ages 13-16
The percent of teenagers sending or posting sexually suggestive messages:
39% of all teenagers
37% of teen girls
40% of teen boys
WHY DO TEENS SEX TEXT?
15% of teenagers who have sent or posted nude or semi-nude images of themselves say they have done so to someone they only knew online.
48% of teenagers say they have received such messages
71% of teen girls and 67% of teen guys who have sent or posted sexually suggestive content say they have sent or posted this content to a boyfriend or girlfriend.
21% of teenage girls and 39% of teen boys say they have sent such content to someone they wanted to date or hook up with.
44% of both teen girls and teen boys say it is common for sexually suggestive text messages to get shared with people other than the intended recipient.
36% of teen girls and 39% of teen boys say it is common for nude or semi-nude photos to get shared with people other than the intended recipient.
51% of teen girls say pressure from a guy is a reason girls send sexy messages or images; only 18% of teen boys cited pressure from female counterparts as a reason.
66% of teen girls and 60% of teen boys say they did so to be “fun or flirtatious”; their most common reason for sending sexy content.
52% of teenage girls used sexting as a “sexy present” for their boyfriend.
44% of both teen girls and teen boys say they sent sexually suggestive messages or images in response to such content they received.
40% of teenage girls said they sent sexually suggestive messages or images as “a joke.”
34% of teen girls say they sent or posted sexually suggestive content to “feel sexy.”
12% of teen girls felt “pressured” to send sexually suggestive messages or images.
Related articles
Teenagers are Sexting - Now what? (nytimes.com)
Nude photo 'sexts' sent by 1 in 4 teens (meridianstar.com)
UM Study: Sexting May Be Normal Dating Behavior For Internet Generation (detroit.cbslocal.com)
Sexting now a normal dating ritual for young adults, study says (seattlepi.com)
Sexting Becoming an Issue With Teens (youthmin.org)
