When Sexting Goes Wrong: The Extent of Nonconsensual Sharing and Sextortion Among U.S. Teens

Sexting, the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images or video, is a potentially risky behavior in which many youth participate. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent of sexting, as well as related harms including nonconsensual sharing of content and sextortion, especially when sexting with those who are not current romantic partners.

Using a national sample of 3,466 adolescents aged 13-17 years in the United States, the current study explored the prevalence of sexting behaviors and related negative outcomes. Differences across age, race, gender, and sexual orientation were assessed using Chi-square tests. We also used multivariate logistic regression to examine the odds of negative outcomes when sharing sexts with those who are not current romantic partners.

About one-third of teens in the sample had participated in sexting by either sending (24%) or receiving (32%) explicit content, or both. Among those, undesirable outcomes frequently occurred. Specifically, about half of the teens who sent a sext had it shared with others without their permission or were subject to sextortion. Differences were observed across different demographic groups. Youth who sent a sext to someone who was not a current romantic partner were 13 times more likely to have their image shared without their permission and five times more likely to be the target of sextortion compared to youth who only sent sexts to current romantic partners.

The findings demonstrate that a minority of teens are participating in sexting, but when they do, undesirable outcomes are common. A comprehensive educational strategy for preventing teen sexting involving harm reduction strategies, social norming, and a renewed focus on healthy and safe sexual behavior online is warranted.