1 in 3 Teens Are Sexting. Here's What Parents Need to Know

If you think teen sexting is just a “phase” or something that happens occasionally, new research suggests it’s much more widespread, and riskier than you’d already assume. In a recent U.S. study, researchers from Florida Atlantic University and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire teamed up to survey 3,466 adolescents ages 13 to 17 about their sexting behaviors. The main takeaway: sexting is not rare, and (as you’d expect) fallout isn’t always harmless.

Surge in Sexting

According to the study, about one in three teens (32.4%) reported receiving a sexually explicit image or video, and nearly one in four (23.9%) said they had sent one themselves. These are both sharp increases compared to earlier research using the same methods.

And the rise isn’t just a shift in numbers. It reflects how deeply digital intimacy has become embedded in teen culture. Smartphones, messaging apps, and social platforms are constant backdrops to teenage social life, and sexting has increasingly become woven into it.

RELATED: Teens Are Exploring Relationships & Sexting With AI Chatbots — & Restrictions Aren’t Working

What to Know About Consent (and Lack Thereof) 

A key concern isn’t just that teens are sending sexual content, it’s what happens after these messages leave their phones. Among teens who sent an explicit image:

The risks jump even higher when the sext isn’t sent within a current romantic relationship. Teens who shared with someone outside a boyfriend/girlfriend dynamic were more than 13 times as likely to have their image shared without consent, and nearly five times as likely to face sextortion (compared to those whose sexting stayed within a current romantic connection.)

That’s not just a statistical quirk. It highlights how vulnerable teens are when digital intimacy goes beyond trusted, established boundaries.

Pressure, Gender, and Patterns of Risk

It turns out teens aren’t just creating this content on their own. They’re asked to do it. About 30% said they’d been asked for a sext, while nearly 20% had asked someone else. Boys were generally more likely than girls to both ask for and receive sexts, and non-heterosexual teens reported higher levels of involvement overall. White and multi-racial teens had among the highest participation rates. 

But perhaps most strikingly, even some 13-year-olds reported high levels of sexting activity, reminding us this isn’t limited to older teens.

MORE: The New ‘Birds & Bees’ Talk: AI, Sexting & Consent in the ChatGPT Era

Now What?

Teen sexting is pervasive, and the study findings signal that conversations about it are more important than ever. Beyond embarrassment and digital drama, the data points to deeper consequences than ever before. 

When images are forwarded without consent, teens can experience humiliation, bullying, reputational harm and emotional distress. In some cases, these violations intersect with legal risk as many states treat the sending, receiving or forwarding of explicit images involving minors as child pornography.

Besides this study, other research has linked sexting — particularly non-consensual sexting — with increased risks for cyberbullying, emotional victimization and even risky sexual behaviors later.

Experts behind the FAU study stress that simple warnings like “don’t sext” aren’t enough. Instead, teens benefit most from real conversations about consent, digital privacy, boundaries and how to navigate requests, including how to say no and how to recognize coercion.

That means parents and caregivers need to move beyond fear-based messaging to open discussions on:

Guidance grounded in understanding — not judgment — helps teens make safer decisions, respect their own boundaries, and protect their privacy in a world where screens are central to modern relationships.