Sexting teenagers more likely to have sex

Washington, July 4 (IANS) Beware parents! Teenagers are sexting nude pictures of themselves far more than previously thought, as a study in seven US schools has revealed nearly a third of teenage students have sent a nude photo of themselves and nearly six in 10 have been requested to send it.

According to researchers from Texas university, the teenagers engaged in this act of sending sexually explicit photographs or messages, primarily between mobile phones, were also more likely to have sex, Daily Mail reported.

Lead author Jeff Temple, assistant professor in University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)'s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, said: "In fact, nearly all girls were bothered by having been asked, and among boys, more than half were bothered at least a little."

Researchers at the varsity while surveying nearly 1,000 students at seven schools in Texas found that 28 percent of adolescents have had sent a nude picture of themselves through electronic means; over half (57 percent) had been asked to send a nude picture; and about one-third (31 percent) had asked for a nude picture to be sent to them.

Researchers claim that 'sexting' via email or text has turned a modern version of "You show me mine, I'll show me yours". The latest figures contrast previous studies which estimated a mere one percent of teenagers had sent their naked pictures.

But the new study is much larger, and, researchers suspect, it is more accurate.

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