Sexting during Teenage is a Normal Part of Growing-up: Study
Adolescents are naturally confused and curious about sex and hence are likely to engage in activities like sexting, watching pornography and have exposure to sexually explicit content. But these behaviors may not necessarily induce them to have sex, suggests a research by the University of Texas. The experts conducted an anonymous survey on nearly 1,000 high school students around the state to note down their sexual behaviors, tendencies and how often they sent or received sext messages, reports the CBS News.
About 28 percent of the participants confessed to have engaged in sexting and students who reportedly sent explicit images of themselves to others mostly became sexually active in the following year. However, the psychologists observed that teens who only received sext messages or passively sexted were less likely to become sexually active.
"I don't think the behavior is new by any means, but the means by which we're doing it is new and scary I think to everyone because it's new, and because it can possibly be shared instantly with billions of people," said Jeff Temple, study author and associate professor in psychology from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, reports the Reuters.
Many concerned parents and guardians think sexting is a dangerous habit and believe it may misguide youngsters to have unprotected sex. The current study authors urge parents to view sexting as typical and normal part of growing up and educate their children what is healthy and unhealthy.
"It does seem to be a part of this repertoire of sexual behaviors, and really. I think that offline behaviors and online behaviors seem to mimic each other. The most important thing that I find with this study and my studies on sexting is really that it offers an opportunity for parents or healthcare providers to talk to teens about sex and safe sex, and I think that's what we need to keep our eye on," Temple adds.
More information is available online in the journal Pediatrics.
