The 800-person survey, released Tuesday by the nonprofit research group, found 15 percent of cell-phone-owning teens ages 12 to 17 had received nude or nearly nude photos by phone. Four percent of the teens said they had sent out sexually explicit photos or videos of themselves.
Older teens were more likely to send sexual images through text messages than younger teens. Four percent of 12-year-olds reported sending sexually suggestive images by text message, while 8 percent of 17-year-olds reported texting nude or partially nude photos.
The Pew survey suggests teens who pay their own cell phone bills and who have unlimited text messaging plans are more likely to engage in sexting than those who use phones owned by their parents or have restrictions placed on how frequently they can text.
However, teens whose parents searched through their cell phones were no more or less likely to send and receive sexually explicit text messages than those whose phones were kept private, the report says.
Boys and girls surveyed were equally likely to say they engage in sexting.
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Lenhart said the focus groups highlighted the fact that teens look at sexting in a range of ways. Some teens interviewed by Pew said sexting was no cause for concern.
"I only do it [sexting] with my girlfriend b/c we have already been sexually active with each other. It's not really a big deal," one high school boy wrote in a Pew focus group.
Others said sexting is part of teenage culture -- partly because it can be more convenient or less intimidating than traditional dating.
"Most people are too shy to have sex," another high school boy told Pew. "Sexting is not as bad."
Once again, it's important to note that two of the most important things we can do as youth workers is to: 1) talk about these issues frankly, because students are already exposed to them on one level or another, and 2) provide parents with support, encouragement, and resources to help them talk with their kids about these issues.
