One in four children under 18-years-old have received a ‘sext’

Children are mad into all sorts these days.

Memes, having smartphones, going viral - you name it and chances are teens are doing something that we absolutely never did before the age of 18. Another thing that children are into these days is sending and receiving sexts, or sexual texts, as they are also known. Sexts can cover anything from a sexually suggestive message to a nude image, and it turns out that one in four young people under the age of 18 have received them. A study conducted by the Univesity of Calgary showed that one in four teens had been sent a sext, and one in seven had sent one themselves. The research included 10,000 young people from around the world, asking them if they had ever sent or received a sext. The findings suggested that the prevalence of smartphones in today's culture led to the high numbers of teens involving themselves in sexting, because they're using their phones to do it rather than their computers. However, even though no parent wants to think too deeply about their child sexting, at the end of the day, as long as both parties are consenting, then it's generally quite healthy. Concerns such as these can often be ironed out by simply addressing the issue with your child. Confronting something head on and making sure your teenager is being responsible and respectful in his or her sexual endeavours is far more beneficial for both of you than pretending it isn't happening.