Tech | December 03, 2009 | 53 comments

One In four teens admit 'sexting'

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/03/sexting-teens-still-texti_n_378285.html

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Think your kid is not "sexting"? Think again.

Sexting – sharing sexually explicit photos, videos and chat by cell phone or online – is fairly commonplace among young people, despite sometimes grim consequences for those who do it. More than a quarter of young people have been involved in sexting in some form, an Associated Press-MTV poll found.

That includes Sammy, a 16-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area who asked that his last name not be used.

Sammy said he had shared naked pictures of himself with girlfriends. He also shared naked pictures of someone else that a friend had sent him.

What he didn't realize at the time was that young people across the country – in Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania – have faced charges, in some cases felony charges, for sending nude pictures.

"That's why I probably wouldn't do it again," Sammy said.

Yet, "I just don't see it as that big of a problem, personally."

That was the view of nearly half of those surveyed who have been involved in sexting. The other half said it's a serious problem – and did it anyway. Knowing there might be consequences hasn't stopped them.
"There's definitely the invincibility factor that young people feel," said Kathleen Bogle, a sociology professor at La Salle University in Philadelphia and author of the book "Hooking Up: Sex, Dating and Relationships on Campus."

"That's part of the reason why they have a high rate of car accidents and things like that, is they think, `Oh, well, that will never happen to me,'" Bogle said.

Research shows teenage brains are not quite mature enough to make good decisions consistently. By the mid-teens, the brain's reward centers, the parts involved in emotional arousal, are well-developed, making teens more vulnerable to peer pressure.

But it is not until the early 20s that the brain's frontal cortex, where reasoning connects with emotion, enabling people to weigh consequences, has finished forming.

Beyond feeling invincible, young people also have a much different view of sexual photos that might be posted online, Bogle said. They don't think about the idea that those photos might wind up in the hands of potential employers or college admissions officers, she said.

"Sometimes they think of it as a joke; they have a laugh about it," Bogle said. "In some cases, it's seen as flirtation. They're thinking of it as something far less serious and aren't thinking of it as consequences down the road or who can get hold of this information. They're also not thinking about worst-case scenarios that parents might worry about."

Sexting doesn't stop with teenagers. Young adults are even more likely to have sexted; one-third of them said they had been involved in sexting, compared with about one-quarter of teenagers.

Thelma, a 25-year-old from Natchitoches, La., who didn't want her last name used, said she's been asked more than once to send naked pictures of herself to a man.

"It's just when you're talking to a guy who's interested in you, and you might have a sexual relationship, so they just want to see you naked," she said, adding that she never complied with those requests.

"But with my current boyfriend, I did it on my own; he didn't ask me," she said, adding that she was confident he would keep the image to himself.

Those who sent nude pictures of themselves mostly said they went to a boyfriend, girlfriend or romantic interest.

But 14 percent said they suspect the pictures were shared without permission, and they may be right: Seventeen percent of those who received naked pictures said they passed them along to someone else, often to more than just one person.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/03/sexting-teens-still-texti_n_378285.html
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53 comments // One In four teens admit 'sexting'

  • EmperorThan
    • 0
      EmperorThan  

    • I think it's funny that people are like "OMG TEENS ARE HAVING SEXTING!?!?!!" and I'm like "should I tell them teens are actually having sex too?"

      Is that really what passes for news nowadays, people are so stupid if they don't know this.

    • 2 years ago
  • J_Jammer
    • 0
      J_Jammer [removed]  
    • EmperorThan:

      It is funny since no one has said that or even reacted in such a manner.

      It's not that they are doing it, but that they are not the only ones that get to see it. Those who are not their age and are perverted have a greater chance of seeing that than seeing anything they do in private. Texting is NOT private. Nothing you put out there is....not even photos you take of your little nude self.

    • 2 years ago
  • ryan8566
  • QuestionGeek
  • jac1992
    • 0
      jac1992  

    • I wonder if "Young love" will now be changed as "Peadophile potential when he turns 17 and she is still only 16", or maybe something a bit more catchy

    • 2 years ago
  • EmperorThan
    • 0
      EmperorThan  

    • I love how many problems we have in the world nowadays yet people will always scream "TEENS ARE HAVING SEX!" like they're shocked or appalled (in Simpson's Mrs. Lovejoy voice) hahaha And what makes it twice is funny is when the teens aren't even having sex, they're just 'sexting' yet the adult act like that's somehow worse? Fools.

    • 2 years ago
  • J_Jammer
  • mojojuju
  • cccocanicola
  • J_Jammer
    • 0
      J_Jammer [removed]  
    • cccocanicola:

      Those nude pictures or words find their way into a pedophile's hands and they do something with it or whatever....you had a helping hand in it because you thought it was harmless little sexting.

      Only idiots, at that age, do this sexting. So stupid.

    • 2 years ago
  • ryan8566
  • royulery
    • 0
      royulery  

    • what a wonderful time it was, being a teen learning sex play. the emotions were huge, bulging, ready to explode at a moments notice.
      my generation was easiestly the most sexually uninhibited in american history. i've walked into parties with everybody naked and openly having sex. common place sex didn't diminish the power of relationships.
      leave the kids alone or they have to rebel and go one step more. you know how it goes, put pressure on teens and some will self destruct.

    • 2 years ago
  • J_Jammer
  • QuestionGeek
    • 0
      QuestionGeek  
    • royulery:

      royulery what specific decade are you referring to...1960's? 1970's? For me the 1970's were a fabulous time to grow up as a kid sexually. There were less hang ups, and people felt less guilty about sex in the USA and sex couldn't give you fatal disease unlike today.

    • 2 years ago
  • LowShred
  • J_Jammer
  • shoegazer
    • 0
      shoegazer  

    • good point ryan 8566 ...the truth is that kids are going to be involved in two things no matter what.....sex and technology..by the way its a well known fact that the porn industry is what drives a lot of media tech forward...sad but true....but in reality niether of these things are going to go away... the "logical" thing to do would be to keep up with the modern social aspects of teen phycology and and give up that old tired "well when i was younger" garbage that we gew up on,,,think forward and embrace tech cause its never going to go away and embrace the basic bodily functions and desires that we have all felt...its a new world but that primal stuff is never going to go away either...grow with your children not apart...

    • 2 years ago
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  

    • Just get your kids spayed or neutered. It's easier than worrying about them sexting each other.

      Isn't there a war we should be getting the Democrats to end?

    • 2 years ago
  • J_Jammer
  • Sexirobot
  • J_Jammer
  • Saladin
  • J_Jammer
  • NailBunnyLuver
    • 0
      NailBunnyLuver  

    • I want to know where the parents come into to this. If teenagers dont have the mental capacity to be using cellphones, doesnt that mean the parents should be taking some responsibility? Nowhere in this article did it mention the parents of these teens.

      I guess it just goes to show how disconnected families have become.

    • 2 years ago
  • hardknockxpert
    • 0
      hardknockxpert  
    • NailBunnyLuver:

      You are exactly right. Last summer, my then 13 year old daughter had some "risque" text messages on her phone. She made a very poor choice one afternoon (which is a completely different story), so I told her she was grounded from her cell phone. (She has never had internet on her phone, but did have text messaging capabilities.) When she handed over her cell phone, she thought twice and then wanted it back so I wouldn't find the messages. She began trying to grab the phone from me, so I was pissed off enough and threw the phone in the toilet. She lost all ability to reason and attacked me. I called 911 and she spent three nights in Juvi...

      I did get her another cell phone a year later, but with no text messaging or Internet. So yes, NailBunnyLuver, communication had broken down, to say the least. If it is a problem, then guess what parents? All ya have to do is get rid of texting/Internet!! Kids will not die without it. So many parents are afraid they are going to piss off their kids - so they surrender to them. That is bullshit and is partially what is wrong with the deliquent children of today.

      I was attacked by my daughter, but am I afraid of her now? Hell, no. She learned a lesson by having to spend time in juvenile detention. She knows if it were to ever happen again, same consequences. Over some text messaging. Ridiculous and easily remedied.

    • 2 years ago
  • ryan8566
    • 0
      ryan8566  

    • i should have realized from the headline of this post where this would be going. the use of the word "admit" implies guilt or innocent, good or bad. sexting is great. if they are not aware of all the possible outcomes, it is another example of technology being ahead of social education by schools or parents. just don't drive...
      should we tell them they will go blind or grow hair on their palms?

    • 2 years ago
  • Minus5scenePoints
    • 0
      Minus5scenePoints  

    • We are a nation that's obsessed with sex and anything sexual. And we're surprised this was blown up...............whhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy?
      I just for the life of me, don't get why people are so up-ity about teens and sex. Teens are gonna fuck. It's just going to happen. now here's an idea, parents, talk to them about it? Hah, funny, I know. It's an amazing thing, communication.

    • 2 years ago
  • kitteneater
  • Mariased
  • shoegazer
  • lizziehoffman
  • flyingkick
  • Ares
  • calm_incense
  • randallr01
  • hannahHULKK
  • Kallico75
  • anglcazn
    • 0
      anglcazn  

    • "Sexting doesn't stop with teenagers. Young adults are even more likely to have sexted; one-third of them said they had been involved in sexting, compared with about one-quarter of teenagers."

      So..why are we focusing on teenages only? This makes me laugh because there is this whole blown up sensationalistic news coverage on teenagers who are sexting. yet, they add one little sentence about "oh and adults do it too."

      Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong with this. Of course, we need to educated EVERYONE about the the consequences of sexting such as that it can be used by people other than the person whom it was sent to. At the same time, educate about safe sex such as how to put on a condom, know the other person's sexual history before becoming sexually involved, etc. instead of "DON'T HAVE SEX!" Teenagers will have sex. Adults will have sex. The elderly will have sex. Everyone will have sex. It's inevitable and the idea of scaring someone into not having sex is absurd.

    • 2 years ago
  • shanklinmike
  • rachellane
  • Acedia
    • 0
      Acedia  

    • I know that the media's supposed to reduce absolutely every issue to a catchphrase, but can we please stop using the word "sexting"? It just sounds stupid.

    • 2 years ago
  • pyrexscholar
  • mr_tibbles
  • scarlettcutie_01
  • iamfree
  • EmperorThan
    • 0
      EmperorThan  

    • I think it's funny how NOT big of a deal this is, yet parents are like "If you Sext you WILL DIE!!!!"

      How do you figure?

      "TWO GIRLS COMMITTED SUICIDE CUS THEY SEXTED!!!!!"

      Two girls? Yet 1 in 4 teens say they do it? I'm pretty sure TWO is known as 'statistically insignificant'.

      Btw these parents are freaking out about Sexting yet the average age boys first have SEX is 16.9 and girls is 17.4. That's REAL SEX not just naughty pictures. Yet I don't hear those statistics making the news as much as sexting does.

      My source VVV (number 7)

      http://www.livescience.com/health/090409-top10-sex-statistics-1.html

    • 2 years ago
  • Ares
  • ifthatsalright
  • EmperorThan
  • onemm24
  • jdubsy
  • sophosthegreat
  • Filmernick
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