Many Parents Sext; Few Worry About Phone Getting Into Wrong Hands

Smartphones: millions of users are taking advantage of them for everything from calorie-tracking to productivity tools to sexting explicit images – including women in the age group likely to be moms, and men in an age group likely to be dads.

At least one out of every five parents who have children younger than age 18 say they’re sexting from their smartphones, says a recent survey. Around 32 percent of men in the age bracket of 18 to 34 years are sending or receiving sexy photos on their phones.

What may surprise many is that in second rank are women ages 35 to 44 – an age group where many are likely to be moms. Around 25 percent of these women in the survey said they’re sexting. This is out of the nearly 2,100 who participated in the study. The findings from a recent survey are also alarming when compared to studies showing that children begin to access sex-related internet content as early as age 11, or younger.

Sexting has also become part of the smartphone usage patterns of older adults. The survey revealed that one out of every ten people in the 55-plus age group admitted to sexting.

Video was also used for sending sex-filled content by smartphone users, with around 18 percent of those in the survey who were dads sending sex related videos. Around five percent of moms were participating in video exchanges of sex content.

Additionally, researchers pointed out that few sexters in the study were worried about their phone images or videos falling into the wrong hands. As reports circulate about children accessing sexual materials online in the range of 8 to 11 years old, and the gamut of associated emotional and physical risks, parents who sext may be contributing to their children’s widespread access of sexual materials over the Internet.