Sexting And Your Relationship: What You Need To Know Before Pressing Send
By Terez Williamson
You are a little lonely. Sitting in your hotel room miles away from home, you decide to whip out your smartphone to begin texting your wife. Then you think, "Wouldn't it be sexy if I use the camera in my phone to show her what she's been missing?"
With a mischievous glint in your eye, you take the photograph of you wearing only your birthday suit, and send it to your spouse.
With the rise in popularity of texting and communicating via social media, more people than ever are using these channels to digitally flirt with partners or complete strangers. "Sexting," or the sending of sexually explicit texts and pictures, was commonly thought to be practiced mainly by teens.
However, sexting is becoming more popular with adults as well. In a recent study conducted by the Pew Research Center, two very interesting findings were uncovered:
- One-third of people aged 18-29 report they received sexually explicit texts and photos, while 13 percent admit to sending such messages.
- 17 percent of adults aged 30-49 say they have received such texts, while five percent claim to have sent them.
No doubt these numbers will continue to rise due to the explosive popularity of smartphones and social media web sites such as Facebook. Also, people tend to behave with less inhibition while online. This uninhibited behavior also extends to when they are conducting a flirtation or affair on the internet.
Consequently, there are significant risks to indulging in digital flirting. Risks that can put your relationship in much jeopardy.
The most dangerous risk involves your private messages becoming exposed to the general public. There are numerous documented cases of careers and marriages ruined due to the scandal of personal, explicit content being leaked.
How can texts or private messages sent online become public? There are many potential scenarios as to how this might occur:
- Mistakes in transmission. Either the intended message is not marked private, or it is sent to the wrong recipient altogether.
- If the relationship ends, one partner could make private information public out of spite or revenge.
- Online accounts are vulnerable to malicious hackers. Reports are all too common of online systems being breached, and private user information stolen.
- There could be legal consequences if the sender and/or receiver of sexually explicit messages is deemed to be a minor.
- Sexts could be considered sexual harassment if the overtures are unsolicited.
Please remember whatever you post online, stays online, even if you send the message privately to a specific person. Again, engaging in sending sexually explicit texts and photos comes with enormous risks.
Here is an excellent guideline to follow in all of your online communication - before you press the "send" button, seriously consider if you would want that same message printed on a billboard with your name on it. If not, you may want to reconsider sending the content.
Don't become another statistic. Using caution and sound judgment with all of your online communication can spare you much heartache and turmoil later on.
Did you know putting your relationship on a "digital diet" can lead to greater intimacy? Discover more by reading the new book, Minimalism & Relationships: Consume Less, Love More by Terez Williamson. Visit Minimalism & Relationships now for more details!
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