The 'sexting' youth grows

        The boys or girls, or their parents or the authorities are still not sufficiently aware of the need to stop what is now known as 'sexting'. Under this name is set to send eroticpictures or videos via email or sms between people, not necessarily have to be partner.

       Kimberly J. Mitchell, Center for Research of Crimes committed against children at the University of New Hampshire, Druham (USA), and author of the first national studyconducted in the U.S. about the prevalence and characteristics, so believes and defends in the latest issue of 'Pediatrics'.

"Educators, public health authorities and legislators are facing a growing number of young people who self-portrait during sex and other minorities capturing these images and distributes them via phone or online."

The reason for such concern is that these young people are exposed to overtly sexualcontent ends up in the hands of strangers. And break your privacy and are vulnerable: their chances of suffering, therefore, cyberbullying, 'grooming' (harassment by adults) or extortion (blackmail if it occurs) increases considerably.

The new research is "the first to evaluate in detail the variety of behaviors of 'sexting'in young people, including the content of the images you create, receive or distribute.With it we aim to give parents, policy makers and professionals a more accurate assessment of the extent of this practice, "added the researchers.

Characteristics of images

        One objective was to determine what they meant by posing nude or semi. Thus, "we asked them if they showed the breasts, genitals or a leg. Only 54% of the 39 youths who appeared in the images or create them reported that the photos meet these criteria, like 84% of the 110 who had received images. "

     One of the striking of the test data is referenced by the context in which boys and girls decide to pose naked. "The majority did acknowledge that as part of their relationship, others for making jokes jokes and trying to start a relationship," says the research indicates that one of the aggravating circumstances to carry out this practice was, in 31%, cases the use of alcohol and other drugs.

      Despite the alarming figures, the authors of the study states that these practices are not accompanied by other risk taking such as unwanted pregnancies. That is, they do not seem an "indicative of early sexualization." 

The risk is age from 15 years and especially affects women. This fact must be addedthat nowadays more and more teens who have phones connected to the Internet, which increases the risk. "

"Inform children of the risks to help them to protect themselves. It is also essential to have good communication with them and teach them that they must communicate any form of cyberbullying that suffer. "

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