Nearly 30 percent of teenagers under 18 have received a sext, new research has revealed.
The new study of more than 100,000 teenagers around the world also found that one in seven teens have sent sext messages themselves, while 12 percent said they have forwarded a sext without consent.
Sexting is becoming more prevalent among teens, and previous studies have found underage teens who share sexually explicit images are more likely to have underage sex.
The recent study, conducted by researchers at the University of Calgary, highlights the importance of including the issue as part of children’s sex education.
One in eight teens forwarded a sexual image or message without the sender’s consent, a new study revealed
‘We weren’t surprised by the findings because the exploration of sexuality is a normal part of adolescence,’ Dr Sheri Madigan, assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of Calgary, told Daily Mail Online.
‘What was most surprising, is that we found that approximately one in 10 teens are reporting that they have forwarded sexts without the consent of the sender,’ she added.
Dr Madigan and her colleagues conducted a literature review of 39 studies involving 110,380 children between the ages of 12 and 17 years old.
She said the prevalence of sexting in the 39 studies analyzed varied dramatically – from three percent to 65 percent.
‘By synthesizing this body of research, we can more accurately estimate that one in seven teens are sending sexts, and 27 percent are receiving sexts,’ Dr Madigan said.
In addition to finding that 12 percent of teens have distributed sexts or messages without consent, researchers also found that 8.4 percent of teens have had their naked selfies or sexual messages circulated without permission.
Researchers said relationships between tweens are often short-lived, which make them more vulnerable to having sexts forwarded without their consent.
They said that given tweens’ ‘naivete,’ they are also vulnerable to having their sexts used as blackmail.
‘An important area of future inquiry will be the identification of variables associated with non-consensual sexting, as well as the evaluation of the effectiveness of educational campaigns and legal policies striving to mitigate non-consensual sexting in youth,’ researchers wrote.
The study also revealed more sexting occurs on smartphones than computers.
‘Smartphone ownership among teens is near universal,’ Dr Madigan told Daily Mail Online. ‘So the fact that [sex and smartphones] are colliding did not surprise us.’
Previous studies have linked sexting among teens to an increased likelihood of participating in risky behaviors.
A 2014 study published in Pediatrics found teens who admitted to sharing nude pictures of themselves were 32 percent more likely to report that they’ve had sexual intercourse a year later when compared to those who haven’t sexted.
Furthermore, a 2012 study published in Pediatrics found teens who sexted were seven times more likely to be sexually active, and nearly two times more likely to have unprotected sex.
‘From a public health perspective, we wanted to study this topic because teen’s on and offline behaviors are completely intertwined,’ Dr Madigan said.
‘So this is a pressing issue for most parents who are wondering what teens are doing on their phones,’ she added.
Dr Madigan urged parents to ‘be proactive, not reactive’ about sexting, and to talk to their kids often about sexuality, sexting, peer pressure, and online versus offline relationships.
‘These are not “one and done” conversations, they should be ongoing throughout the tween and teen years,’ she said.
Psychologist Dr Elizabeth Englander, of Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, reviewed the findings for the journal and said they were an important step forward in understanding the prevalence of sexting – including the unauthorized distribution of sexual images.
‘Sexting is a new behavior that is evolving rapidly, as technology changes and awareness increases,’ she said. ‘The accuracy of our understanding about it defines our prevention and intervention efforts.’