Few teens sexting study

Few teens sexting study

Few teens sexting study, Only 1 percent of youths sexting, study says, Only 1 percent of kids ages 10-17 admit to sexting explicit photos of themselves, according to a new study, though 7 percent say they have received such photos. The practice of “sexting” nude photos by phone and online by teens is not as widespread as people think, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire asked 1,560 Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 whether they had sent or received sexual photos in the past year. Just one percent of the kids said they were involved in sending graphic photos or sexually explicit photographs.

Seven percent of the kids polled said they had received nude or nearly nude photographs of others, while close to six percent said the photos they had received were sexually explicit.

Kimberly Mitchell, an associate professor of psychology at the University of New Hampshire and the study’s author, says she finds the survey results “somewhat reassuring.” Mitchell says the media has portrayed sexting as a “big problem” but chances are your kid is not involved in the practice.

In a related study, researchers found law enforcement agencies respond to approximately 1,750 cases of sexting each year in the U.S. Both studies were published in the journal Pediatrics.

ABC News Radio