The issue of “sexting” has been widely covered by the media, but the practice of sending explicit images and text messages via mobile phones may be more common among minors than previously thought. A recent study of teen sexting conducted by the American Medical Association’s JAMA Network found that 28% of high school students have sent nude images of themselves using a mobile phone. 31% of those surveyed admitting to having asked someone to send a naked picture of him or herself, and 57% said they had been asked to sext.
About 45% of boys said they have asked someone to send them a nude image via mobile messaging, compared to about 20% of girls. 70% of girls surveyed said they had been asked to send naked photos of themselves, however.
The JAMA Network’s study also found that teens who sext are more likely to engage in intercourse than teens who do not, and girls who send nude images of themselves via their cell phones are more likely to have unprotected sex than girls who don’t sext.