Sexting (exchange of erotic sms and photos) has recently attracted the attention of not only potential participants, but also scientists. Helpful or harmful? Opinions do not always coincide.
In the past, studies have shown that sexters are prone to risky behavior (unprotected sex, drug use), for which they have to pay with sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
Psychologists Emily Stasko (Emily Stasko) and Pamela Geller (Pamela Geller) from Drexel University (Philadelphia, USA) decided to check if there is any benefit in sexting, because we are talking about open and free erotic communication with a partner. They conducted an online survey to find out how sexting is related to relationship quality and sexual satisfaction. The survey involved 870 Americans (57,7% of them women) aged 18 to 82, three-quarters of whom were in a permanent relationship. 43% have never been married, the same number were married at the time of the survey.
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- public intimacy
It turned out that sexting is very common – 87,8% of respondents have ever done it, and 82,2% – during the last year. Most of the participants used a smartphone for this (95,9%). 73,9% exchanged messages with a partner with whom they were in a permanent relationship, 43% – with casual acquaintances. Only 12% have sexted a person with whom they cheated on a regular partner. Most often, erotic messages were sent from home (76,1%), but 30% of respondents admitted that they happened to send such messages while outside the home, in particular, at work.
It turned out that for those who were not in a “very serious” relationship, sexting was associated with higher satisfaction with the sexual side of life (no such relationship was found in strong marriages).
The authors urge to move away from the view of sexting as a purely negative phenomenon and point to the benefits that it can bring to relationships. It has even been suggested that it could be used in couples therapy.
For more details, see E. Stasko, R. Geller “Reframing Sexting as a Positive Relationship Behavior”, a report at the 123rd Annual Conference of the American Psychological Association (APA).