Sexting Is the 'New Normal' For Teens

[Randy]

news from: http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/sexting-new-normal-teens-study-shows-n219646

Sexting is common among teens, and not just the ones taking part in high-risk behaviors, a new study shows. Jeff Temple, of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, looked at data from several years of surveys filled out anonymously by local high school students. He found that sexting wasn't associated with risky behaviors in many cases, and was more of an indicator of general sexual activity. "That we did not find a link between sexting and risky sexual behavior over time may suggest that sexting is a new 'normal' part of adolescent sexual development," the study concludes. Temple looked at data collected in 2011 and 2012, before anonymous and "ephemeral" messaging apps like Snapchat gained widespread popularity, so sexting numbers and methods may have changed since then — but as Temple points out, the behavior itself is not new, just the medium on which it is taking place. The new risk is that those sexts may be spread accidentally or maliciously, as evidenced by last month's leak of celebrities' private photos.

If you are a teen, is sexting the normal way for you communicate electronically with your BF or GF?

 

[DrLeftover]

More efficient than passing half scribbled notes back and forth in class and mumbling into the telephone so nobody else can hear you talking to them.

 

[Dee]

I'd much prefer teens to sext one another than actually have sex. However, it is worrisome if they start out sexting and then end up doing the real thing soon after, or use it as a way to harm someone in the vulnerable situation of releasing private information and photoso.