Sexting behaviour among adolescents: Do friendship quality and social competence matter?

Choose a Girl

Furthermore, sexting is a phenomenon closely linked to social norms, so it is important to address both sexting normalisation and gender differences (Symons et al., 2018; Wood et al., 2015). Despite the differences in sexting prevalence, studies show considerable percentages of involvement and some even claim that it is a common behaviour in online interactions during adolescence (Gámez-Guadix et al., 2017). The registration law contains an exception for certain teen sexting cases. Minors adjudicated delinquent for child pornography do not have to register as sex offenders, as long as the sexting was consensual and the creator and subject of the image were both younger than 18.

What is Considered Child Pornography

In turn, boys can experience positive consequences; for example, increased acceptance inside peer group (Speno, 2016; Burén and Lunde, 2018). This reality exposes the sexual double standard governing sexting, as it is girls who are more likely to have their reputation tarnished and who mostly face the consequences of this phenomenon as well as a greater negative impact (Wood et al., 2015). Thus, there seem to be different patterns to explain the roles that boys and girls take on in the negotiation process and the consequences by gender (Wood et al., 2015; Symons et al., 2018).

Journal of Adolescent Health

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• Legislators should consider drafting a narrow exception to sex offenses to prevent “innocent” teens from being charged with serious violations while maintaining liability for those who are guilty of actual child pornography – regardless of age.
• So you can get back to (or start) sexting in a safer way that feels comfortable to you.
• While this study proves that adult texting is quite popular, sexting among minors has actually decreased between 2008 and 2013.

Studies suggest sexting typically occurs within the context of a committed relationship rather than between strangers. Others may use it to maintain intimacy when the current circumstances prevent them from having sex physically. For example, a woman may send her spouse erotic photos while she is away on a business trip. Make use of these sexting messages to express your interest in sexting. So you can get back to (or start) sexting in a safer way that feels comfortable to you.

Items of interest included (1) average time spent on the internet and (2) late-night internet use after 11 pm. Furthermore, respondents were asked about “Internet rules that some people follow” (2012 National Survey only) and personal experience of applying ICT safety (2014 National Survey only). Web-based and communication risks items were developed by the research group based on the reviews of national and international literature. Involvement rates are highly varied, largely because of the wide range of attributable meanings (Barrense-Dias et al., 2017). When sexting is defined as the sending of sexual content, prevalence ranges from 4.6 (Rice et al., 2012) to 31% (Woodward et al., 2017).

• Along the same line, Temple et al. [34], did not find sexting to be a marker of mental health.
• Involving law enforcement early will also minimize any potential criminal liability of school personnel.
• As a future line of research, it would be useful to conduct qualitative studies that allow us to capture and analyze gender differences in greater depth.
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It is important to keep in touch with people that you trust and who will support you. Additionally, an attorney can also assert any legal defenses that may be applicable in your specific case. Finally, an attorney will also be able to represent you during any in person criminal proceedings, and at trial as necessary.

Addressing these issues relating to the operationalization and measurement of sexting warrants focus. Specifically, adolescents who identify as non-heterosexual participate more in this practice, but not in other behaviours. This coincides with previous research reporting how young people from sexual minorities are more likely to engage in sending sexual content (Gámez-Guadix et al., 2017; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2014). However, the aforementioned groups are not significantly more likely to participate in other sexting behaviours more closely related to non-consensual forms (Van-Ouytsel et al., 2019).