A new study found that one out of four teens has done "sexting" due to peer pressure. Most of the time, these teens were influenced by their friends or their romantic partners and willingly ignore the possible risks.

Sexting is the sending of sexually explicit images or messages through mobile communication. It is a combined term of “sex” and “texting” which became an official word in the dictionary in 2012. Having it accepted as a word is a clear sign that it is widely used worldwide.

Michel Walrave, lead author of the study from the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Antwerp, and his colleagues initiated the study to find out why teens are into sexting which they believe can help identify its potential risks.

The researchers surveyed 498 teens between 15 and 18 years old. They were given questions related to their own personal beliefs, their perception of social pressures, and their possible actions when given a situation.

Their analysis revealed that most of the teens do sexting to gain more attention from their sexting partner, decrease the chances of getting STDs since there is no physical contact involved, and to find a romantic partner. When presented of the possible risks such as bad reputation and, or blackmailing, or their parents catching them, majority of them said they will still do it.

Teens were also motivated to engage into sexting when pressured by their friends and romantic partners. This is because they trust these people. “The more positive the perceived social pressure that originates from these two categories of referents – who mostly belong to the peer group – the more adolescents will be inclined to engage in sexting”. Negative pressures from parents and teachers did not affect motivations,” Walrave wrote.

The researchers recommend to policy makers and educators to include sexting and peer pressure management to help reduce the incident of the sexting between teens.

The study was titled Under pressure to sext? Applying the theory of planned behaviour to adolescent sexting, and was published by Taylor & Francis.

Read the full article here.