Debate flares over sexting in schools

Children as young as 13 believe all their friends are sexting and nearly 40 per cent of them say they actually are.

However, about 42 per cent of young people say they are showing the explicit messages or images to other people or posting them publicly, adding a high degree of risk to what is becoming a social norm, a leading Canadian researcher told an anti-bullying conference in Sydney last week.

And Wendy Craig, a professor of psychology at Queen’s University, said it was important for parents to have conversations about sexting with their children and for teachers to address it directly within the sex education curriculum.

"Is it a problem? Is it normal? There’s a real debate around this," Professor Craig told the NSW government’s Care. Respect. Support Anti-Bullying Strategy conference.

"Developmental psychologists are starting to [say] that maybe sexting is now a normal expression of sexuality, that it’s a way we can express ourselves through technology and that it’s intended to be a private way of exploring relationships.

"We know that those who are struggling to define who they are in terms of their sexual identity ... it’s an easier mechanism for them, for example, LGBTIQ youth are more likely to engage in [sexting]."

In Australia, 38 per cent of people aged 13 to 15, 50 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds and 59 per cent of those aged over 19 said they had sent a sexual picture or video, a survey of more than 2200 people previously conducted by the University of Sydney found.

Additionally, 62 per cent of 13 to 15-year-olds, 70 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds and 68 per cent of those aged over 19 said they had received a sexual picture or video.

Professor Craig said that while 93 per cent of students in Canada believe other young people sext, making it a social norm, it is ranked far behind cyber bullying and online safety as an area of concern among parents and teachers.

In NSW, information on the risks and legal issues around sexting are available on the eSafety Commissioner’s website, but the practice is not mentioned explicitly in the NSW Department of Education’s "anti-bullying plan".

A spokeswoman for the department said it was "supporting the NSW government’s independent review into the use of mobile digital devices, including smartphones, in NSW schools" that is under way.

"This review is examining the benefits and risks, including cyber bullying and image-based abuse. Among other things, the review aims to identify strategies and techniques that can equip students to use devices in more informed, responsible and safer ways," the spokeswoman said.

Professor Craig said that while it was important to recognise the ways in which sexting can be healthy, especially among older students, they also need to discuss issues of consent around it.

"Girls often feel pressured by their friends and often it’s used to get revenge on someone, often it’s used after a break-up has happened," she said. "There’s a relationship between the frequency in which you engage in sexting and engaging in other risky behaviours such as substance abuse, increased risk of emotional problems ... it’s related to having multiple partners."

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