Sexting by youth between the ages of 12 and 17 is linked with risks such as multiple sexual partners, anxiety, depression and substance use, an analysis of 23 studies by the University of Calgary has found.

The research involving nearly 42,000 participants suggests sex education needs to be part of the school curricula when it comes to students sexting explicit photos and videos of themselves, often not realizing the material could be forwarded without their consent.

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Senior researcher Sheri Madigan, an associate professor in the universityB次元官网网址檚 psychology department, said parents should also be talking with their kids about online conduct so they are aware of the consequences of sending texts that could be deemed child pornography if theyB次元官网网址檙e distributed.

Parents who donB次元官网网址檛 discuss sexting with their kids may feel technologically inferior to their savvy kids who are growing up in a digital world while talks about B次元官网网址渢he birds and the beesB次元官网网址� are tough enough for many people to begin with, Madigan said.

She said itB次元官网网址檚 important to stress consent when it comes to sexual activity should extend to the distribution of images.

B次元官网网址淎bout four out of 10 parents are actually talking to their kids about being safe online and what we really need is 10 out of 10 kids getting that conversation. And the only way to have 10 out of 10 is if we have that conversation at school as well as, hopefully, at home.B次元官网网址�

The analysis, published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, looked at studies between 2012 and 2018 from various countries including Canada, the United States, Britain, Australia, Peru, Nigeria and Korea.

It showed one in four teens is receiving sexts, one in seven is sending them and one in eight is forwarding them without consent, said Madigan of the research that focused on data from those who sent texts.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of youth report that their online and offline lives are completely intertwined so itB次元官网网址檚 not surprising that their sexual interests are now transpiring over the phone,B次元官网网址� she said, adding the nearly two dozen studies revealed adolescents were also at risk of having sex without contraception.

Use of alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana were also found to be associated with sexting.

Madigan, who has an eight-year-old son, a 10-year-old daughter and two-year-old boy and girl twins, said she has been discussing the problem with her oldest child, who does not have a phone but is learning about online safety including friend requests from strangers.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e realized that if I donB次元官网网址檛 have that conversation with them they will get it from school, and not from teachers.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 impossible to know from the studies whether adolescents who sext most often were already at risk of problematic behaviour, Madigan said.

B次元官网网址淎ll the studies so far have looked at sexting and risk factors concurrently so we donB次元官网网址檛 know if the anxiety leads kids to sext or if kids are sexting and then they have anxiety.B次元官网网址�

Camille Mori, lead author of the analysis and a masters student in a University of Calgary lab led by Madigan, said younger children are more prone to the risks but most schools are not teaching students about sexting so they learn to be safe, respectful and ethical online.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檇 like to see longitudinal studies that can follow children for a period of time in order to see more of that directional link between sexting and risky behaviour,B次元官网网址� she said.

Matthew Johnson, director of education for MediaSmarts, said the non-profit organization promoting digital literacy provides information on its website that teachers from across the country can access to supplement their lessons, which should include sexting.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not just about teaching it but itB次元官网网址檚 about teaching it in a way that does more good than harm,B次元官网网址� he said from Ottawa.

B次元官网网址淭he biggest issue is they focus overwhelmingly on the sender of the text. They focus typically on convincing people not to send texts and as a result they donB次元官网网址檛 address the culpability of the people who then make the sext public,B次元官网网址� Johnson said.

B次元官网网址淭hey show overly dramatic or extreme consequences of having a sext shared, which we know is likely to make the message less relevant. What we feel is they should be focusing on the sext sharers because thatB次元官网网址檚 where the harm is done.B次元官网网址�

Camille Bains, The Canadian Press

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