What is sexting and why is it risky?

A summary of the risks associated with the practice of sexting, which is especially common among young people.

Sexting is a relatively recent way of experiencing sex, which means two things: it is practiced mostly by young people, and at the same time there is significant misinformation about everything that surrounds it, which can lead to risks and problems.

In this article we will see what are the risks of sexting and how they can affect us.

What is sexting?

As suggested by its etymology in English, sexting (sometimes called "sexteo" in Spanish) is the practice of sending and/or receiving sexual content of oneself or the interlocutor through messaging platforms, such as those currently used in smartphones.such as those currently used in smartphones, in order to produce sexual arousal.

These contents can range from text to photographs and videos, taking into account that the features of cell phones currently on the market make it very easy to create and share audiovisual material with good technical quality instantly. Originally, however, sexting consisted only of messages due to the technical limitations that existed until not so many years ago, and the concept was first formulated in the early 21st century.

In itself, there is nothing inherently wrong with sexting and it would be absurd to evaluate it morally from the point of view of psychology for the simple fact that there is no physical contact between the people involved: it is just another way of enjoying sexuality. However, it has a series of associated risks that must be known.However, it has a series of associated risks that must be known, especially because it is a particularly common practice among adolescents.

What are the risks of sexting?

First of all, it is important to note that sexting itself is not psychologically harmful and does not necessarily have a negative impact on the development of young people.

While there is currently a tendency to fear there is a certain tendency to fear the use of new technologies (e.g., there is a tendency to insist on the (for example, it is insisted over and over again that video games lead children to be violent, despite the fact that scientific evidence does not support this belief), in the case of sexting the possible negative effects of this way of experiencing sexuality are limited to the possibilities of something bad happening; above all, the dissemination of these images, videos or texts.

Thus, the danger of sexting is a question of "all or nothing": either nothing bad happens, or it can lead to psychologically devastating consequences.

Let's take a look at a summary of these risks.

1. The other person can use the content to blackmail you.

It is very important to have a close relationship with the person with whom you are sexting.Otherwise, we expose ourselves to all kinds of blackmail: the other party is capable of threatening to spread what has been sent. In fact, there are mafias that operate through the Internet to obtain sexual content from their victims.

2. Other people can access these contents

Currently, no chat or photo and video sharing platform offers a 100% guarantee that such content cannot be accessed by third parties.

In addition, most people are unaware that relatively short passwords can be easily "circumvented".There are programs that test all possible combinations until they get it right, so that they can solve 7-character passwords in a matter of minutes.

In this way, once the victim has been selected, gaining access to their chat and social network profiles is usually a matter of how much time and money they want to invest in "forcing" that barrier to entry, unless the password is relatively secure (more than 12 characters and case-sensitive, case-sensitive and number-switching).

3. The material obtained can lead to bullying and cyberbullying.

Unfortunately, this kind of content is too often used as material to fan the flames of bullying among teenagers. For example, a sex video can be shared in group chats among students in a school class.posting pictures or screenshots around the school or on social networks, etc. Obviously, in cases like this, the chances of filing a complaint and winning the trial are very high, but the damage will already be done.

What to do?

In the face of texting, we have two fundamental tools: psychoeducation to prevent incidents and help people to protect themselves from attackers, and psychotherapy to treat the victims of the dissemination of sexting content.

In the first place, young people are taught to understand the sensitivity and intimacy of such content, that the simple fact of sharing such content without permission is not only illegal but can seriously damage the mental health of the victim, and that it is very important to follow a series of protocols to stay safe from cyber-attacks and people with bad intentions who seek to manipulate and deceive to exercise blackmail.

In the case of professional psychological support, people who have suffered attacks from sexting material are helped to overcome their possible traumas or mood or anxiety disorders.. This process is more complex and lasts several months, but in most cases it is indispensable for the person to be able to overcome such experiences.

Are you looking for professional psychological support?

If you are interested in psychological assistance services for adults and adolescents, please contact me.

My name is Tomás Santa Cecilia and I work from the cognitive-behavioral model applied to individuals, groups and companies. I offer face-to-face sessions in Madrid, and also online by video call.