We teach school kids about safe sex. We also need to teach safe sexting, researchers say

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We teach school kids about safe ****. We also need to teach safe sexting, researchers say

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Sexting involves taking self-made ****** or partially ****** ******* photos, videos or explicit texts and sending them online or via a mobile phone. They are more commonly referred to as “nudes” or “***** pics” by young people.

A

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of almost 7,000 *********** teenagers (aged 14 to 18) found sexting was “ordinary practice” for young people. Of those surveyed, 86% reported they had received sexts and 70% said they had sent them.

Our new

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explores *********** teens’ experiences with sexting and sext education. We conducted 49 interviews with 30 young Australians (aged 11 to 17), with 19 repeat interviews a year later.

Our findings show how current messages to simply avoid sexting do not work for young people. While the risks should be acknowledged, education should also include how to be respectful and safe with sexting.

What are the laws around sexting?

In most states and territories in Australia, it is legal to have **** when you are 16, but you need to be 18 to sext.

This is because

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of people who are minors is seen as creating child ******* exploitation materials. This is ******** under Commonwealth laws.

This makes sexting between young people under 18, consenting or otherwise,

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.

States

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regarding underage sexting (and police and prosecutors have some discretion). But if you are in possession of a ****** image of someone under 18 or send a ****** image of someone under 18, you are breaking the law. It is even ******** to own a ****** photo of yourself under 18, even if that image is never sent to anyone.

Researchers have argued this legal approach to sexting can end up

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. It also adds to the shaming and ***** around sexting for young people.

Our research

Most young people in our study had their first experience of sexting between ten and 13-years-old. In many cases, this was before their first kiss. (Names in this story have been changed.)

But young people in our study said education about sexting in school tends to be based around risks, often in response to a particular incident and is mostly ignored by students. As Max (12), told us, “it was just basically saying […] ‘don’t send them'”.

Lauren (14) said, “They more veer on the safety side of things […] why nudes are bad […].”

She argued this didn’t work.

“They [teens] know the warnings, but it just sort of goes in one ear and out the other. I don’t think kids listen to that.”

Rightly or wrongly, teens in our study also saw relationships as a safe space for sexting. As Warren (17) noted:

“If I was in a relationship, it’s a bit different ’cause I trust them, they trust me.”

This “don’t do it” messaging is akin to abstinence-only **** education, which is widely acknowledged to be

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from pregnancy and STIs. In contrast, comprehensive sexuality education has been proven to

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first ******* experiences and increase contraceptive use. This shows offering young people access to important ******* information can protect them.

Young people want to be ‘be prepared’

Teens in our study acknowledged sexting had a “dark side.”

For many, their first sext was an unsolicited image known as “

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“. Many knew of peers who had their own images leaked by other students

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, even though none said this had happened to them. This sharing and leaking of private images has previously been known as “revenge *****” and forms part of an array of behaviors known as

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, which is ********.

Teens wished they had been taught about sexting before encountering it so they could “be prepared.” Secondary school students said sexting education should begin in upper primary school with age-appropriate discussions continuing into high school, where, as Tiffany (15) told us, sexting “happens regularly, daily.”

Lauren said education around how to be respectful and consider issues like consent in online safety was also important:

“I think it would be really useful, some people just don’t know, if you send something to someone that it’s obviously ‘private’ […] you just want to share it with that one person.”

The *** is changing its approach

Pretending sexting won’t or

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because it is ******** is like pretending no one under 16 has ****, no young teenagers drink alcohol and no one takes illicit drugs. We don’t pretend these behaviors don’t exist: we educate for harm minimisation around them.

Recent guidance to schools in the ******* Kingdom around sexting reduces the emphasis on legal issues, while attempting to

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who sext. This approach emphasizes young people’s rights and responsibilities to make informed choices over their own bodies and ******* selves.

Indeed, online **** is ****, forming part of a repertoire of ******* behaviors. Offering

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acknowledges sexuality as a legitimate part of human development.

What can parents and teachers do?

Parents and teachers can offer balanced information that identifies potential dangers but also acknowledges the reality of young people’s behaviors.

Instead of “don’t do it,” teens may be more receptive to discussions about consent and mutual respect for one another’s bodies as they would (and should) in real life.

If things do “go wrong” there are several services available.

The eSafety Commission acknowledges it is important young people know they can always

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, and to avoid sharing intimate images and videos without consent . This is both breach of trust and against the law. It also has advice for when

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, if someone is trying to blackmail you over a ****** image (“sextortion”) and provides a way to report

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.

You can also make a report to the

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and US-based site

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The federal government’s parenting website, the Raising Children Network also offers balanced

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guides if your child is asked to send a *****, receives one or has one shared without their consent.

Above all, maintaining an open dialogue and a

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will allow young people to feel safe to discuss anything with the adults in their lives. It also helps if teens know parents will help in a crisis, rather than punish them.

Provided by
The Conversation

This article is republished from

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under a Creative Commons license. Read the

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Citation:
We teach school kids about safe ****. We also need to teach safe sexting, researchers say (2024, March 15)
retrieved 15 March 2024
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