The Latest on Kids and Sexting

With the pandemic leading kids to spend more time online, it’s not surprising that researchers have found that from 2019 to 2020, there was a two-fold increase in children between the ages of nine and twelve reporting that they sent nudes and other self-generated sexual abuse materials. In fact, seventeen percent of all kids ages nine to seventeen say they have shared nudes. This increase was more pronounced among pre-teens and boys. One in four boys ages nine to twelve now say that is is normal to share nudes, which is a ten percent increase over the prior year. Among the nine to seventeen year olds who say they shared nude photos, half reported sending those images to someone they had not met in real life, and forty-one percent believed they were sending the nude images to an adult. All in all, these numbers are increasing. This serves as a reminder to teach online safety, monitor our kids online time, and to teach the proper place and practice of God’s good design for his gift of sexuality.