Sexting: A Psychological Analysis

As the use of cell phones increased a new phenomenon known as sexting developed along with it. Sexting is viewed as a branch of texting where at least one individual involved exchanges a sexually suggestive message or image with the other individual (Warlrave, Heirman, & Hallman, 2012). It was shown that 67% of young adults have engaged in sending sexually suggestive text messages (Drouin & Landgraff, 2012). Sexting tends to occur frequently enough that it is viewed to be part of the normative dating process (Gordon-Messer, Arturo- Bauermeister, Grodzinski, & Zimmerman 2013). These messages are often sent to be used as a method of flirting or a way of demonstrating sexual interest (Jewell & Brown, 2013). Sexting has been a well discussed topic …show more content…
With more people engaging in sexting it is important to understand the psychological effects. There are many concerns that sexting may over promote a sexualized culture and further progress women to be exposed as sexual entities (Walker, Sanci, & Temple-Smith, 2013).It is important to fully understand the consequences of sexting in order to understand how it will affect the generation engaging in sexting later and how to deal with these …show more content…
After sending a text message with sexual content psychological distress and suicide intentions are shown to be common, due to the lack of control of its whereabouts (Gordon-Messer et al., 2013). It is not rare for an individual to blackmail a past lover with these exposing text messages after a break up which can cause a great deal of psychological stress (Warlrave et al., 2012). The consequences of sexting tend to be severally more negative for women compare to men (Walker et al., 2013). Sexting can lead a woman to a wider range of new sexual pressures that she may never had meant to initiative (Walker et al., 2013). When sexting goes wrong women are often the ones who are to blame. Society looks at it in the way that it women are to blame for their poor decisions and should not be sympathized (Walker et al., 2013). Engaging in sexualized text messaging has commonly been shown to destroy a woman’s reputation and lower her self-esteem (Walker et al., 2013). Women that engage in sexting that has gone wrong face the consequences of psychological distress, higher changes of depression, increased suicidal intentions and often substance abuse (Jewell & Brown, 2013). Receiving sects is viewed positively for the men and increases their social standings amongst other men (Walker et al., 2013). Yet sexting can lead to problematic concerns similar to other technology addictions

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