Teens & Sexting: Has the Fad Finally Run Its Course?

According to a new review by the DC-based think-tank Pew Research Center, the novelty of “sexting” is wearing thin on today’s teens.

The research completed by those at the Pew Center centered around young adults ranging from age 12 to 17. 4% of that particular age group admitted to sending racy text messages to other teens and 15% state that they’ve received the same type of texts or photos in return. Clearly, the older the teen grows, the more at risk they are of becoming privy to such messages and also, in sending them.

Out of this same study, the facts about teen cell phone use emerge. 75% of young adults between the ages of 12 and 17 are said to own cell phones. Out of that 75%, 66% are stated to utilize the text messaging feature.

Before I expound on the study’s findings, I’m going to interject a few points here. I am not all that “old.” I’ll be 27 in June. That puts me out of high school ten years. Although my high school heyday was ten-plus years ago, for societal developments, it’s not all that long. When I was in high school cell phones weren’t exactly in abundance. I’d say out of every ten friends I had, only 2 or 3 of them had cell phones to speak of. I, myself, didn’t have my first cell phone until I was almost eighteen. Whether it was due to living in a city where everything was in relatively-close proximity and a cell phone wasn’t really a necessity or whether we just weren’t cutting-edge enough to hop on the technological bandwagon, who knows. My point is that only ten years have passed and the numbers for cell phone usage in young adults has almost tripled.

The Pew study also states that they conducted a phone interview throughout the months of June, July, August and September of 2009 regarding young adults that had utilized their cell phones to send or receive suggestive communications. Findings report that only 4% of young adults admitted to sending explicit messages, with no huge margin between whether it was a male or female. 15% of kids admitted to receiving the same type of messages.

While a lot of children were subjected to shame through their “sexting” experience, most individuals studied stated that they did not feel the act was so detrimental. Many claimed that they didn’t feel “ready” for sex, so the sexting was an appropriate way to better convey feelings. Although the majority of teens state that they feel it’s a dangerous topic to broach, being that a lot of information can be viewed in a more public forum, they still admit to participating. However, many boys interviewed stated that while they enjoyed receiving the messages from various girls, it placed the same girls in a negative light, i.e., the “slut.” The boys primarily stated that they didn’t feel that any wrongdoing had occurred if a boy had sent the same type of message because it’s what boys “do.”

The Pew study concludes that “sexting” isn’t as prevalent as it used to be — the novelty seems to be wearing thin. Regardless, there are many things that a parent can do to intervene in a child’s suspect activity. Monitor their phone usage, for one. Ask themselves if a cell phone at age 12 is really necessary. Remove text capabilities from the phone’s plan. There are tons of solutions that could potentially cut down on the teenage practice of sexting. Parents in my time of adolescence were always in our faces, wondering who we were hanging out with, where we were going, what time we’d be home… Have things really changed that much in a mere ten years?

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