sexting

Sexting is sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs or images, primarily between mobile phones. It may also include the use of a computer or any digital device. The term was first popularized in the early 21st century, and is a portmanteau of sex and texting, where the latter is meant in the wide sense of sending a text possibly with images. In August 2012, the word sexting was listed for the first time in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 2Background The first published use of the term sexting was in a 2005 article in the Australian Sunday Telegraph Magazine. The Pew Research Center commissioned a study on sexting, which divides the practice into three types: Exchange of images solely between two romantic partners. Exchanges between partners that are shared with others outside the relationship. Exchanges between people who are not yet in a relationship, but where at least one person hopes to be. Sexting has become more common with the rise in camera phones and smartphones with Internet access, that can be used to send explicit photographs as well as messages. While sexting is used by married couples, most media coverage fixates on negative aspects of adolescent usag