Hot phone sex. Photo credit: pacfolly
A new study on teen “sexting”, entitled “How often are Teens Arrested for Sexting?” was published in Pediatrics, an academic journal, and the results are unexpectedly good. The study reports only one percent of teenagers are “sexting”, or for anyone over 30, electronically sending sexually provocative images.
This new study undertaken by the Crimes Against Children Research Centre (CACRC) at the University of New Hampshire debunks one in 2008 carried out by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which reported scare-mongering figures that one in every five American teenagers had electronically sent naked or semi-naked photographs of themselves. Previous fears over the prevalence of sexting have been caused in part by relying on studies which have included young adults in their samples. The rest of the blame goes to sensationalist tabloid stories.
The numbers. The study involved phone interviews with 1,560 American teenagers. This latest study focuses solely on nude images, not suggestive texts. A fact sheet of the figures show that of people aged 10 to 17, only two percent had sent naked or semi-naked images of themselves. Only one percent of those aged between 10 – 15 had sent images that were sexually explicit. For 16 – 17 year olds, it was five percent. Of this five percent, a third said they were using alcohol and drugs when they took the pictures.
Janis Wolak from the CACRC told ABC, “sometimes it was joking around” but “often [the images] were created in the context of a romantic relationship.” She added “kids who created the images did not distribute them widely.”
Dialogue not dictates. Janis Wolak criticized adults for “too often… issuing dictates to kids – don’t do this, this is bad – without really engaging in a dialog.” Dr. Victor Strasburger, an adolescent medicine expert at the University of New Mexico, agreed, saying kids need to be told “that when you put things online and even when you send them via cellphone, they’re potentially there forever.” He told Associated Press that instead of prosecution there needs to be more emphasis on teaching teenagers to be responsible with new technology.
Parents, schools and law enforcement authorities “need to understand that teenagers are neurologically programmed to do dumb things”, slammed Dr. Victor Strasburger, reported Associated Press.
Educational reform. In Australia, a Federal Police program called ThinkUKnow runs in schools across the country. The program includes showing Megan’s story, which warns young people that, once sent, images are no longer under the control of the sender. Nina Funnell, a social researcher writing a book on sexting, criticised this strategy of naming and shaming. She told ABC that she hoped that the new research will encourage a more informed debate and spur legal reform.
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