15% of teens 'sexting' on cells, study says
12/17/2009 12:46:00 AM
kenmouse
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About 15 percent of American teenagers have received nude or sexually suggestive photos on their cell phones, and that percentage doubles as teens get older, according to a study released Tuesday about the tech-fueled trend called "sexting."Boys are as likely as girls to send sexts, while teens who pay for their own cell phone bills are more likely to text salacious shots, according to the study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project of Washington.
The study does show the vast majority of teens aren't sexting, with 4 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds admitting to sexting photos or videos of themselves.
But researchers said the study still indicates sexting, which could lead to other problems such as cyber bullying, has become part of the fabric of modern teenage life.
"Kids have experience with it," said Amanda Lenhart, a Pew research specialist. "It's something they have to deal with and talk about in their lives."
And with the widespread use of cell phones, she said, teens' lives are "now transmittable and shareable in ways that weren't possible before."
The Pew report is based on interviews conducted with 800 teenagers and their parents or guardians from June to September.
The study showed 8 percent of 17-year-olds sent sexts and 30 percent received them. Teens who paid for their own phone service and those with unlimited texting plans were more likely to sext.
The study quotes teens brought into focus groups who said they sexted because they were in a romantic relationship, hoped to interest a prospective partner or thought the photos could be used in lieu of having sex.
"I think it was more common in middle school, because kids are afraid to do face-to-face contact sexually," the study quotes one high school girl. "In high school, kids don't need the pictures. They'll just hang out with that person romantically."
A middle school boy said sexting was "no big deal and it doesn't happen very often."
But another high school girl wrote that "most of the girls who have are usually pressured by a guy that they like or want to like them, or their boyfriends."
Earlier this year at a conference in San Francisco, sexual health educators and teen advocates said the cultural fascination with the sexting trend was "overblown."
But Internet safety advocate Parry Aftab believes the Pew numbers are low because those interviewed may not have been as forthcoming with their parents present.
"If this many teens were willing to admit it in front of a parent or guardian, you have to wonder how many teens are really doing it," said Aftab, executive director of the nonprofit WiredSafety.org.
The Pew findings are similar to those of a Dec. 3 Associated Press/MTV poll that said 3 of 10 people ages 14 to 24 have sent or received nude photos on their phones or online, and 50 percent have been the target of digital abuse.
MTV, with partners including WiredSafety and social networks Facebook and MySpace, launched a multiyear campaign called "A Thin Line" to raise awareness about the dangers of sexting and digital abuse. MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman cited one recent case of a 13-year-old Florida girl who sent a nude photo of herself to a boy she liked. Published reports said she was so distraught about the taunting she received after the photo circulated to students at two schools that she hanged herself.
"We want (teens) to think about it before they pass that nude photo around," Friedman said. "Most of these kids in a million years wouldn't want to be inflicting that kind of damage."
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