CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) — When it comes to teens “sexting,” some of the newest data available suggests it may be more than likely that teens are sending sexually explicit pictures and messages to one another.
An undergrad survey from Drexel University in 2014 found more than half of the respondents admitted they had sexted in some form while in high school. Another study, from Southern Illinois University, found about a fourth, 24 percent, of underage high-school students sent nude photos.
Sexting is a problem that’s grown with the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices in the last decade. It’s a national issue that the National Center on Sexual Exploitation closely monitors. Officials there warn parents and kids that bad things can happen when sending inappropriate images– even to a trusted person.
“Internet Watch Foundation found that 88 percent of ‘sexts’ are essentially stolen from the original location,” said Haley Halverson, vice president of Advocacy and Outreach at NCSE.
