While there’s nothing wrong with finding love, it’s important to do so safely. With the advent of technology and the widespread availability of pornographic content, teenagers’ ideas of love have transformed for the worse. And one of the most alarming trends to have emerged in recent times is sexting.

Let’s look at what it’s all about and the dangers it poses.

What is sexting?

Short for sex texting, ‘sexting’ is a phenomenon that’s quite common among teens. Teens who have their own smartphones or tablets sometimes engage in conversations where they send each other sexually suggestive and provocative pictures and messages. These pictures could be their own or taken off the internet to evoke sexual desires in the other person. Teens usually engage in such messages when their parents are sleeping or are away from home. According to research, 20% of teens in the US have said they’ve engaged in sexting at some point.

Why is it dangerous?

In today’s world, it takes less than a minute for something to go viral on the internet. If your child’s partner turns out to be unfaithful, they can easily tarnish their reputation by publicizing the pictures they received. This can lead to your child being bullied by other kids, causing a lot of emotional duress.

Sexting leads to curiosity. Teens might want even want to have sex afterward. According to statistics, 76% of teens who have sexted eventually ended up having intercourse with their partners. This takes your teen’s attention off other more pressing matters like their education, career, etc. It can even lead to an unwanted pregnancy.

Teens may regret sexting later. Teenage years are a vulnerable time. Kids get carried away, trusting everyone and anyone who compliments them. Getting involved in conversations like this at such an early age and breaking up as they mature can take a toll on a kid’s mental health.

What can you do?

The first and foremost step you need to take is to detect whether your teen is actually sexting. Once you’ve figured out, you can then explain to them why it’s wrong and why they need to be more careful when it comes to trusting people.

If your child is sexting, the chances are that they won’t ever admit it. You’ll have to find out yourself. Seek help from phone spy apps like PhoneSpector. PhoneSpector is hidden tracking software which gives you remote control access to your teen’s calls and chats without letting them know. You can even retrieve all that they’ve deleted to hide from you. PhoneSpector needs no jail-breaking. Whether you have an iPhone or an Android device, it only takes 45 seconds to sign up.