I can assure you that my 16 year old, Belle, is not texting. She’s just taking a bit of dictation from.
Most of us over the age of 30 did not have the availability to sext when we were in school. Actually we hadn’t even heard of the concept. But today, kids of every age have cell phones, many with the ability to send print or pictures to anyone whose phone number they know. And, teens, parents, celebrities, and politicians, are sexting.
When the first sext message was sent, I do not know, but a report in the medical journal “Pediatrics” from June of 2014, is telling. The investigators found that 20% of middle school students with text capable phones had received a sext, and 5% had sent a sext. Now, that doesn’t see like a lot, but remember these are kids in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
More startling, students who text at least 100 times per day were more likely to sext and were 2.4 times more likely to be sexually active. Those heavy texters were also 4.5 times more likely to receive sexts and be sexually active. Compared with not being sexually active, excessive texting and receiving sexts were as much nm as 12 times more likely to be sexually active than those who text fewer than 100 times a day and did not sext.
The younger a teen is when they start to have sex, the higher the risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted infections or becoming pregnant. The authors concluded that parents and “…pediatricians should discuss sexting with young adolescents because this may facilitate conversations about sexually transmitted infection and pregnancy prevention. Sexting and associated risks should be considered for inclusion in middle school sex education curricula.”[i]
An earlier study of high school students reported that Fifteen percent of adolescents with cell phone access reported sexting, and 54% reported knowing someone who had sent a sext. Furthermore, those who sexted were 10-15 times more likely that non-sexting peers to be sexually active. These investigators concluded that: “Sexting, rather than functioning as an alternative to ‘real world’ sexual risk behavior, appears to be part of a cluster of risky sexual behaviors among adolescents.”[ii]
Another small study by Drexler found 54% of college undergraduates report having sexted as minors. But the more important finding was that 61% of students did not know that in most states it is unlawful to send explicit sexual messages or, photos of minors, to a minor. Those who do regardless of their age can be labeled “Sex offenders” with all of its lifetime consequences.
The lesson here is to talk with your tweens and teens about sexting. Learn how to set parental controls on their computers, tablets, and phones to block nude pictures.
Every time you hear, read, or see a news item on sexting discuss it with your kids. You can’t protect them if they don’t know what’s out there.
Everyone of us wants our kids to be like Belle and not endanger their lives by sexting.
[i] Pediatrics 2014; 134:1 e21-e28
[ii] Pediatrics 2012; 130:4 667-673;