Melbourne, March 31 (ANI): As the trend of
sexting becomes increasingly common, teenagers are exchanging naked
photos of themselves as a form of "insurance" to prevent their
partners forwarding on saucy images.
According to the Daily Telegraph, University of NSW researcher
Nina Funnell has spoken to hundreds of young people aged between 15
and 18 about their sexting habits for a book she is writing and
found sexting is an accepted part of adolescent dating culture.
The ongoing two-year research project into sexting - sending
sexually explicit messages, photos or videos via text message - has
revealed the adolescents are aware that filming their sexual poses
and behaviour is risky.
"The common idea is that young people are doing this as a
response to pressure or they're brainwashed by popular culture,"
the Courier Mail quoted Funnell as saying.
"Young people I speak to don't say this. What I hear is it's
about flirtation, pleasure and exploring their sexuality."
Funnell said that many students continued to "sext" even after
finding out they risked criminal prosecution.
Deakin University psychology Professor Marita McCabe said
teenagers have always "pushed the barriers" exploring their
sexuality, now they're using technology.
"We would need to be careful about criminalising something that
is consensual and not exploitative," added adolescent sexuality
expert
-- Yahoo!