Study: Many teens sext on social media

Sending and receiving messages, photos, or videos with sexually suggestive content is called ‘sexting’. 

And it is quite common among Norwegian teenagers, according to a recent survey.

Participants in the long-term Trondheim Early Secure Study were asked how often they send photos or videos of themselves undressed so that their breasts or genitals are visible.

“When they were 16 years old, 31 per cent answered that they had sent such messages. When they were 18 years old, that figure was 39 per cent,” says Professor Silje Steinsbekk at NTNU’s Department of Psychology.

Only 8 per cent had sent these kinds of photos and videos when they were 14 years old.

More people receive than send

But it was much more common to have received photos and videos than to send them. Here too, a lot changes between the ages of 14 and 16.

“When they were 14 years old, 39 per cent had received such messages, compared to about 70 per cent when they were 16 and 18 years old,” Steinsbekk says.

The study is based on a sample of 743 adolescents, with roughly the same number of boys as girls.

The Trondheim Early Secure Study has been ongoing for several years.

This time, Professors Steinsbekk and Lars Wichstrøm at NTNU were joined by two colleagues from the United States, Jacqueline Nesi from Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and Sophia Choukas-Bradley, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Send to partners – receive from strangers

The researchers also examined who the teens sent photos and videos to, and who sent them messages.

On average, most send to people they know, but receive from strangers.

“The most common thing when they were 16 and 18 was to send pictures and videos to their boyfriend or girlfriend,” Steinsbekk says.

Many also answered that they had received these kinds of messages from their boyfriend or girlfriend. This applied to 32 per cent of 18-year-olds.

“But at all times, it was most common to have received photos and videos from people they didn’t know,” Steinsbekk says.

Most people sext on their preferred social media platforms, such as Snapchat or Instagram.

Much more common after a while

Not unexpectedly, the older teens are, the more they sext. With puberty comes an interest in sex, and one of the developmental tasks in adolescence is to explore sexuality with a partner.

“It's therefore not surprising that young people most often send messages like this to their boyfriend or girlfriend,” says Steinsbekk.

The proportion who sext increases from ages 16 to 18 – from 19 per cent to 27 per cent. By comparison, the figure is much lower at age 14, only 3.4 per cent.

Girls get more messages, especially from strangers

“As many boys as girls reported sending pictures and videos where they were undressed. But there were a larger number of girls who answered that they had received these messages, when they were asked at ages 14, 16, and 18,” Steinsbekk says.

Girls are also more often sent photos and videos from strangers, and they more often receive these on their own social media pages.

“This indicates that girls are more vulnerable than boys to being sent unwanted messages, and what can be perceived as intrusive messages,” she says.

Boys reported more often than the girls that they were sent photos and videos from friends.

Need to both accept and protect

For many, sexting is a natural part of sexual development. 

At the same time, studies show that sexting increases the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, although this research is inconclusive.

“We therefore need measures that recognise that sexting can promote sexual development and health, while at the same time we protect young people from the risks it can entail,” says Steinsbekk.

Reference:

Steinsbekk et al. Development and Characteristics of Sexting from Age 14 to 18 Years in a Norwegian Birth Cohort, Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2026. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-026-03413-5

———

Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no

This content is paid for and presented by NTNU

This content is created by NTNU's communication staff, who use this platform to communicate science and share results from research with the public. NTNU is one of more than 80 owners of ScienceNorway.no. Read more here.

More content from NTNU:

• 

  Are boys more motivated and girls more compassionate?

• 

  Why seafarers have little confidence in autonomous ships

• 

  These house sparrows can help us save other endangered animals

• 

  Experienced therapists can give psychology students an extra boost

• 

  Teamwork is a skill – it must be practiced

• 

  Getting your tongue stuck: The science behind a very cold mistake