MENTAL HEALTH

Sexting

The term sexting is a combination of sex and texting. Sexting is the act of sending sexual text messages, nudes or seminude pictures and explicit videos of yourself.

It takes place via phone messages or other messaging services and through direct messaging on social media sites. Teen sexting is very common. One in seven teens or about 15% of teenagers have sent sexually explicit texts, while one in four teens or 25% has reported receiving such texts.

Why Is Teen Sexting Seen as A Problem?

There are many risks of sexting. A photo that is shared between two people can quickly become viral. Teens may believe it can be kept private and then later discover that it has been shared with others. When you send a nude image of yourself to someone, what happens to it after that and where it goes is often out of your control.

You may trust the person who is sexting, but unexpected things can happen like a breakup, someone sharing the photo, the phone getting hacked or stolen, or family members finding the photos. Thus, there are many unpleasant consequences of teen sexting.

What Can You Do After You Have Shared A Sext You Regret?

1. Ask the person to delete your message and watch them do it
2. Talk to someone you trust, like a friend, parent or counsellor.
3. If you receive unwanted pictures or requests, report them to your mobile phone company or social media platform.

Risk Of Sexting As A Teen

• Bullying
• sexting media leak can lead to cyberbullying among teenagers. A cyberbully may use leaked explicit pictures and videos to bully the person by:

• Impersonation
• IM, DM & text message harassment
• Posting personal photos, videos or information on social media or blog
• Using the nude to shame the person for their body type that can lead to body image disorder
• Signing you up for porn sites

• Legal Problems

Sexting involving minors can lead to legal charges even if all the people who participate in it are under 18. People who share images of minors can face child pornography charges.

• The Internet is Forever

Sexting can come back to haunt anyone, especially teens. Sharing nude photos online can hurt their college admission chances as some admission officers, especially of reputed institutions look at social media profiles and search names of the potential candidates to gauge maturity levels and see if someone is a good candidate.