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More and more adolescents “sext,” or send sexually explicit images of themselves or other minors by cell phone or the Internet. A survey published in the January 2012 issue of Pediatrics found 2.5 percent of 1,560 Internet users ages 10 to 17 have sexted in the past year, but just 1 percent involved images that potentially violate child pornography laws.
If sexting is defined as transmitting sexually suggestive images, rather than sexually explicit images, that number increases to 9.6 percent. Most kids who sext do it as a prank or while in a relationship; 31 percent of the incidents involved alcohol or drug use. Experts say more kids should be educated on the consequences of possessing or distributing sexually explicit images, which currently is treated as a criminal offense.
