Yikes! Here’s How Many People Will Actually Read Your Racy Text Messages

Whether you’re dating, just hooking up, or in a long-term relationship, sexting can be a fun way to add that little somethin’ somethin’ into an otherwise boring conversation.

But far from those racy messages being for the recipient’s eyes only, new research indicates that when it comes to naughty texts, there’s a whole lot of sharing going on.

According to research conducted by the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, one in four people share sexts they’ve received with their friends.

And it gets worse.

Of 5,805 singles, 23% said they’d share sexy pics and messages with an average of three or more friends.

Yikes.

We’re seeing a contemporary struggle as men and women attempt to reconcile digital eroticism with real-world consequence

 

Unfortunately, there’s a very real risk involved. “That finding suggests that the real risk of sexting is the potential for nonconsensual sharing of sext messages,” says the study’s author Justin Garcia in a press release.

He adds: “It raises the question that if someone sends something to you with the presumption that it’s private, and then you share it with others — which, when it comes to sexting, nearly one out of every four single Americans are doing, what do we want to consider that type of violation? Is it just bad taste? Is it criminal?

“As sexting becomes more common and normative, we’re seeing a contemporary struggle as men and women attempt to reconcile digital eroticism with real-world consequences.”

The takeaway? Think twice, and then once again before you consider hitting send on that NSFW message.

• Dating
• love
• Relationships
• Sex