Our new infographic illustrates findings on teen sexting behavior. Building on last week’s post, our Teen Health and Technology study finds that the vast majority of teens (93%) do not “sext”—the popular term for sharing sexually suggestive photos of oneself through web or mobile technology. Among the 7 percent of teens who reported sexting, teen sexters are more likely to be female and more likely to be older than teens who do not sext. These data suggest that sexting is not necessarily unhealthy behavior--instead, sexting may just be part of teen sexual development in today’s digital society. To learn more, check out this infographic: Sexting among Teens. Acknowledgments: Thank you to Emilie Chen for her contributions to this blog. … [Read more...]
How Many Teens Are Actually Sexting?
“Sexting” among teenagers has increasingly made news headlines, resulting in a lot of worried parents. Usually defined as sharing a sexual photo of oneself nude or nearly nude through mobile or Internet communication—sexting may actually be less common than most people think. In fact, national surveys suggest that only a small minority—between 3 to 7 percent—of teens are sexting [1, 2, 3]. “If that’s the case, then why does it seem like so many of my children’s friends have gotten caught up in it?” many parents ask me. Well, one reason may be because one salacious incident can easily seize the attention of all students in a school. For instance, even if only 5 percent of youth are sexting at your child’s high school, this translates to one in 20 students—almost one student in every class … [Read more...]
With mHealth, Mobile Technology Improves Our Health
Mobile health technology, also called mHealth, can affect behavioral change. Some love it. Some hate it. Either way, mobile communication devices seem inescapable in today’s digital society [1]. This can sometimes feel like a nuisance when millenials—and a few older folks too—seem permanently glued to their smartphone screens. Nonetheless, the ubiquity of cell phones has made it possible for people to access health information wherever they go, right in the palms of their hands [2]. These mobile health programs, sometimes abbreviated as mHealth, are relatively inexpensive to scale upwards and expand for larger audiences [1]. With 9 in 10 adults in the U.S. owning a cell phone [1], mobile health programs have the potential to help individuals through a wide range of issues [2], … [Read more...]
Two Things You Need to Know About Youth Violence
Youth crime rates are at their lowest in three decades. Every time we turn on the news, it seems like there's another awful case of young people engaging in some horrific violent act, such as a school shooting. It’s easy to get the sense that the world is more dangerous now than it’s ever been. Yet, data from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention show a very clear picture: Youth violence is decreasing. The rate of violent youth arrest rates has been on a very steady decline since the mid-1990s [1]. It is now at the lowest rate that we’ve seen in three decades [1]. Take for example: 1 In 2012, youth arrests for violent crime reached its lowest rate in 32 years. [2] The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated … [Read more...]
Family Matters: Parental Rules for Internet Use
Infographic on household rules for Internet use In our recent post on the reality and misperceptions of online "predators," we discussed the importance of talking to kids about Internet safety. However, as an ever-evolving realm that many of us didn't grow up with, the Internet isn't always an easy subject matter to navigate. In our latest infographic, we've illustrated data from our "Growing up with Media" study, highlighting how many, how frequently, and some ways in which parents establish rules regarding their children's Internet rules in their households. Growing up with Media: Household Rules Find us on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook. Acknowledgments: Thanks to Emilie Chen for her contributions to this blog. The GuwM Study was funded by a … [Read more...]
Family Matters: Youth and Video Games
Infographic on the patterns in youth consumption of video games If your last year’s Christmas shopping list looked anything like mine, then at least one video game was on it. Even if your Christmas shopping didn’t add to the growth of the billion-dollar industry, with 170 million Americans playing video games [1], you probably know at least one person who would have appreciated if video games had been on your Christmas shopping list. But with four of the five top selling video games of 2013 having “M” ratings for Mature audiences [2], and the frightening frequency of media stories concerning video game addictions and video game violence [3, 4], video games are as stigmatized as they are popular. While video game addiction is undoubtedly real [3], and violent video games have been … [Read more...]
New Bill Supports Treatment for Perpetrators of Sexual Assault
While intoxicated and unconscious at a party, 15-year-old Audrie Pott was sexually assaulted by three of her peers. The three assailants drew on her partly exposed body, took photos of her, and then proceeded to share the photos with others online [1]. After using social media to piece together events she had no memory of, Audrie died by suicide [2]. During the court proceedings closed to the public, Audrie’s adolescent assailants were sentenced to 30 to 45 days in juvenile hall [1]. Audrie’s parents expressed disappointment that not only were the sentences too short, but could also be served on weekends [1]. Beyond brief incarceration, her assailants received no other punishment – or behavioral treatment for their sexual offences. Following the court decision, many questioned the … [Read more...]
Teens Online and Sexual “Predators”
Remember when Facebook only allowed people with college email addresses to join its network? It’s kind of hard to believe that was only 10 years ago. After Facebook opened its doors to high school networks, teens quickly jumped on a bandwagon originally geared for young adults. A decade later, a recent survey shows that 4 in 5 teens actively use Facebook, with more than a quarter of teens using Facebook “all the time” [1]. With Facebook and other popular social media sites, such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Vine, all integral parts of teen social life [1], many parents feel the imperative to talk to their kids about Internet safety–including the potential for meeting nefarious people intent on exploiting children. This fear is reinforced with media messages. And although children coming … [Read more...]
Youth Exposure to Violence
National headlines reporting assault, bullying, sexual assault, and many other forms of violence leave us feeling that we are living in an ever more dangerous world. Contrary to these headlines though, research shows that violence among children and teens is declining. [1] Recent research from the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center suggest that trends in exposure to violence has significantly declined for both children and teens in the past decade. Researchers examined 50 different types of violence and crime that children and teens experience, and what they found was a significant decline from 2003 to 2011 in more than half of the experiences they looked at, including physical intimidation decreasing by, “more than one-third,” sexual victimization … [Read more...]
Family Matters: Youth and Mental Health
Researchers, public policy officials, and the general public as a whole have long been concerned about the consequences of youth’s exposure to violence and sex in the media. Recent studies have documented the explosion of different types of media available to youth [1,2] and the widespread presence of violence in these media outlets. [3] As the Internet and other media types with violent and sexual content become increasingly prominent in the lives of today’s youth, questions have been raised regarding what impact this has on the mental health and well-being of youth. As one of the few national surveys of teens, recent findings from the Growing up with Media study shed light on the psychosocial well-being of adolescents today. Data in the study was obtained from both youth and … [Read more...]