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Snapchat Fueled the Explosion of Sexting, Study Says
Sexting is growing among children in the United States, particularly as more of them use smartphones, according to new research.
Over the past decade, researchers studied more than 110,000 youths between the ages of 12 and 18, according to JAMA Pediatrics, a leading medical journal that publishes the latest clinical studies. The research, which was evenly split between boys and girls, looked at sexts that were sent, received, forwarded without consent and received without consent.
The prevalence of sexting — "sharing of sexually explicit images, videos, or messages through electronic means" — has increased in recent years as youths age and smartphone use increases, researchers said.
"The increase ... with age is commensurate with older youth having greater access to and/or owning smartphones compared with younger youth," researchers wrote.
The increased popularity of Snapchat — a smartphone app that deletes photos after 10 seconds — led to an expanded rate of sexting. The website Tech Junkie reports that originally it was teens who used the app for sexting, but now people of all ages use it. And, Tech Junkie warns, photos can be saved, even without the sender's knowledge.
"Perform a quick internet search for 'save Snapchat pics' or words to that effect, and you will see a few hundred websites purporting to show you how to keep snaps you are sent," stated an April 2017 blog. "Some will even show you how to do it without notifying the sender that you are saving the snap. That alone should send alarm bells ringing."
More studies needed
Researchers noted that the smaller studies contributing to the meta-analysis of the more than 110,000 children do not offer specific, consistent details about who is sexting when, only that it has increased over time and with the proliferation of smartphones. Delving further into the practice of sexting is needed for health care professionals to respond appropriately, they said.
"Media portrayals of sexting often implicate adolescent girls as the senders of naked photographs and adolescent boys as the requesters," researchers stated. "However, this popular belief and [data] were not supported by the present meta-analysis, which found no significant sex differences in the rate of sending or receiving sexts."
The earlier studies concluded that the percentage of tweens — or pre-adolescents — and teens who are sexting ranges "from 1.3 percent to 60 percent. The extent to which health care professionals, school personnel, policymakers, and parents should be concerned about this behavior is unknown." The meta-analysis narrowed that down to between 14.8 percent and 27.4 percent sexting among 12- to 18-year-olds.
Younger teens "may be particularly vulnerable to sextortion [nude images and/or videos used as a form of threat or blackmail]," researchers said, "and may be at risk for a host of risky behaviors and negative consequences."
"Further research focusing on nonconsensual sexting is necessary to appropriately target and inform intervention, education, and policy efforts," the team wrote.
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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British student talks about her culture shock in Ohio
A British student who did a year abroad at Bowling Green State University in Ohio talks about adjusting to life in America in a TikTok video, Newsweek magazine reports.
Among the biggest surprises? Portion sizes, jaywalking laws and dorm room beds.
Read the full story here. (December 2024)
