Sexting in Poland and the United States: A Comparative Study of Personal and Social- Situational Factors

Abstract

IntroductionSocially interactive technology (e.g., mobile phone text messaging, social network sites like Facebook and Twitter, etc.) has permanently changed our communication landscape, allowing users to interact electronically with one another in a way that was once inconceivable - being physically absent yet instantaneously accessible and connected. These new communication technologies have altered the ways we interact with one another, even in the most intimate of relationships. In recent years, we have come to observe documentation regarding the role that such technology plays in sexual behavior. Considerable attention has been given to the growing phenomenon of sexting, which refers to the sharing or transfer of nude/sexually suggestive photos, videos, and images through electronic means such as mobile phone text messaging services, smartphone apps (e.g., Tinder, Snapchat), or online services (e.g., emails, chat rooms, instant messages) via computer, tablet, and other electronic devices. Sexting is a modern method of sexual expression and intimate communication, and predilection for it seems to be on the rise. It is estimated that about 10% of cell phone users have sent a sext message and 20% received one, with smartphone users being over twice as likely as non-smartphone users to do so (Lenhart & Duggan, 2014), yet estimates of sexting vary based on other factors. Nevertheless, the capacity for smartphones to share photos and videos in text messages and to connect with others through mobile phone apps or on the Internet has paved the way for such immediate exchanges.The purpose of the current study is to investigate personal and social-situational factors that may influence sexting. Specifically, the study examines whether: 1) age, gender, and nationality influence sexting, 2) technology factors relate to sexting, 3) the normalization of intimate behavior occurring through technology impacts sexting, and 4) risk exposure is associated with sexting.Prior Researcha. AgeStudies on the prevalence of sexting reveal its popularity with younger generations. When examining teenagers, one study found that 15% of cell-phone owners aged 12-17 received nude or nearly nude images while 4% sent such media to another (Lenhart, 2009), and another study found estimates to be substantially higher, with 40% of high school students reporting having received a sext and 18% having sent one (Strassberg et al., 2010). While much of the research focuses on teenagers, research on young adults is also growing and indicates that this age group is critical to study. Young adults have higher rates of these behaviors than teenagers, and they are also more likely to send, receive, and forward texts than older adults (Lenhart & Duggan, 2014). In one study, Benotsch and colleagues (2013) found that nearly half (44%) of the sample reporting engaging in sexting. Likewise, a PewResearch Poll revealed that nearly half of cell phone owners between the ages of 18-24 (44%) reported having received a sext and over one-quarter of those ages 25-34 (22%) reported having sent a sext. Nearly 10% of these young adults have even reported forwarded the sext to someone else. Outside of college populations, one study indicated that 70% of 18-24 year olds received some type of sexually suggestive content from someone, which was the largest percentage of all age groups (The Futures Company, 2014). Most of these images were shared with intimate partners.Young adults represent the highest percentage of technology users. According to data from 2017,100%of individuals between the ages of 18-29 have a mobile phone, with 92% own a smartphone (Mobile Fact Sheet, 2017), up from 86% of smart phone owners in 2015 (Anderson, 2015). The vast majority use social media/Internet (Greenwood et al., 2016). They are also at an age following adolescence where romantic feelings and sexual intimacy grow more common (Miller & Benson, 1999). …