When you send out a racy picture, you hope it’s a “for your eyes only” situation: But about 1 in 4 people actually show sexts to others, a new study from Indiana University found.
Researchers polled more than 5,800 adults and found that nearly 25 percent of them had shared a sext with other people.
And it wasn’t just one other person catching a glimpse of that sextual message. On average, people showed three friends.
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Interesting stuff, since nearly 75 percent of those polled said they were uncomfortable with the idea of unauthorized sext sharing.
So who’s sexting the most? According to study results, people already in established relationships do the most dirty texting.
And 66 percent of men and 78 percent of women say they do it to flirt with their significant other.
That’s sweet, but then again, it also means someone you’re in a relationship with could be sharing these with friends.
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Overall, 21 percent of those polled reported having sent a sext (men were more than 1.5 times more likely to do it than women), while 28 percent said they’ve received one.
Of those, 16 percent said they’ve sent sexual photos, while more than 23 percent say they’ve received them.
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The study authors suggest although sexting is becoming more mainstream, people still don’t fully understand the risks.
So next time you’re thinking about sending a sext, make sure it’s not something you wouldn’t want her friends seeing, too.
The article The Number of People Who Are Probably Reading Every Sext You Send originally ran on WomensHealthMag.com.
