'Sexting' Not As Popular As Thought

New research shows that online sexual behavior, in contrast to what has been suggested in some popular media, is not very common. Only a specific group of people engages in ‘sexting’ according to communication scientist Susanne Baumgartner. From her original research, she concluded that only two to three percent of the group of 1765 research participants was involved in sexting, which is defined as sending a nude picture or video to a person one does not know. She also found that five percent of Dutch adolescents look for someone to have sex with on the Internet. RTL.nl reported Baumgartner's claim that people who show sexual risk behavior online most of the time belonged to a specific group. When people are not highly educated, have problems at home, and are unhappy with their lives, there is a higher probability that they engage in sexting. Peer influence is also a factor.