revealing study on sex & technology
Unpublished post, originally written 12/16/08 for my now defunct state of sex education blog on gURL.
Teaching middle and high school, I regularly find myself dealing with issues of texting or Facebook gone wild. So I was interested to see that CosmoGirl and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy had teamed up to produce a report on sex and technology among teens and young people in their twenties.
Here are some of the findings:
- 15% of teens who have sent sexually suggestive content such as text messages, email, photographs or video say they have done so with someone they only know online.
- More than one-third of teens (38%) say exchanging sexy content makes dating or hooking up with others more likely.
- Nearly one-third of teens (29%) believe those exchanging sexy content are “expected” to date or hook up.
- Sending sexually suggestive messages is even more prevalent than sending nude/semi-nude images.
- Nearly half of young people have sent sexually suggestive text messages or email messages to someone.
- Even more have received sexually suggestive messages: 48% of teens and 64% of young adults (56% total). Fully one-third of young teen girls (ages 13-16) have received sexually suggestive messages.
- Teen girls who have sent or posted sexually suggestive content provide a number of reasons why: Two-thirds (66%) say they did so to be “fun or flirtatious,” half (52%) did so as a “sexy present” for their boyfriend, and 40% as a “joke.”
- Even though nearly three-quarters of young people (73% total, 75% of teens, 71% of young adults) say that sending sexually suggestive content “can have serious negative consequences,” nearly one-quarter (22% total, 19% of teens and 26% of young adults) say sending sexually suggestive content is “no big deal.”
So why is this going on? A recent British study on sexual communication on the internet found that a lot of girls said they were sexually more aggressive and bolder in online communication than in person.
That is pretty easy to understand. It is a lot easier to say suggestive things when you don’t have to look at the person and see their reaction. It is also easier to respond to suggestive comments when you have time to craft an answer. Additionally, many people feel like they can be anonymous when they are behind a screen.
There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these beliefs. However, there are risks to be aware of. A big one is that ANYTHING you put on a screen can be saved and forwarded forever. Another is that it is easy to forget that there are real people behind those screens who may be hurt, offended or uncomfortable with what they are receiving. Finally, the trend of sharing passwords with your friends can also lead to real heartache when someone maliciously, or even jokingly, logs in and sends something as if it was coming from you.
The link between sex and technology is here to stay. So we might as well be smart about what we are doing and think about the long term consequences before hitting send.
Have any of you had positive or negative experiences with sex and technology?
