Parents, Wake Up: Teen Sexting Linked to Risky Sexual Behavior

One out of every seven Los Angeles high school students with a cell phone has sent a sexually explicit text message or photo. According to a recently published study, those same students were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, uncovered that the L.A. teens who had sent pornographic texts (known as sexts) were seven times more likely to be sexually active than those who never sexted.

Reuters reported on September 18 that Eric Rice, a social network researcher from the University of Southern California who led the study, said, “What we really wanted to know is, is there a link between sexting and taking risks with your body? And the answer is a resounding yes.”

Rice’s findings are based on surveys taken among 1,839 students in Los Angeles High Schools, most of who were Latino. Seventy-five percent of them owned a cell phone that they used regularly.

A similar study of Houston Texas high schoolers released earlier in the summer revealed that one in four students had sent a nude photo of themselves either by sexting or by e-mail. The same conclusion was drawn in that study. The teens sexting were involved in risky sex behavior.

Rice told Reuters that the rate of teen sexting in Houston may have been slightly higher than in Los Angeles due to demographic differences, but the results of the studies are consistent.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also sponsored a similar study that discovered that just over 40 percent of teens with a cell phone had engaged in sexual activity. Only about two thirds of them used protection.

Jeff Temple, a psychologist and women’s health researcher from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, summing up the results of all three surveys told Reuters, “Somewhere in the middle is probably a pretty good estimate of what’s going on nationally.” This is clearly a huge problem.

Temple’s research also shows that the girls who send naked pictures of themselves are more likely to engage in risky sex, to have multiple sex partners and to use alcohol or drugs before sex.

What these studies show should be a screaming a loud alarm to all parents. Basically, teens are living their online life offline! A teen willing to text or e-mail a nude self-portrait is not sending it as a joke. She is likely also engaging in risky sexual behavior.

Parents who allow their children to have cell phones, especially smart phones, must work to be aware of how their child uses the cell phone. A smart phone is more like a computer and can be hacked as easily as a computer. In January, the New York Times said that cell phone hacking would be the “scourge of 2012.” Any naked photo sent somewhere electronically can end up on the Internet. Any teen sexting invites predators and bullies into her life.

There are also legal ramifications associated with sexting. Any student who receives a sexually explicit text could be charged with receipt of child pornography.

Any parent desiring to give his or her teen cell phone usage, but also desiring to protect his or her child from sexual disease and sexual harm, must also take the time to monitor how the phone is used. Parents should not fear establishing rules for cell phone use. Work with your cell phone service provider to obtain content filters, usage controls and location and monitoring controls. Of course the handiest tool open to all parents is spur-of-the-moment phone checks.

Parents, take on the responsibility to not only teach your teen the proper use of sex within marriage, but also the serious dangers and ramifications of sexting. Never forget that you have the right and the responsibility to take a cell phone away if your teen is using it improperly.

Write for or download a copy of The Missing Dimension in Sex. This book provides you with a simple-to-understand wealth of information to help you protect your child from the sexual dangers so prevalent in our sex-crazed, high-tech world.