Sexting among Young Adults: A Critical Review

Running head: CRITICAL REVIEW 1
Critical Review
Name
Institution

CRITICAL REVIEW 2
Sexting among Young Adults
Introduction
Sexting can be described as the act of sharing erotic and sexually suggestive photos and
messages over cell phones. This act of interaction has gained fame in recent years and has
become a common part of the dating process. What makes this topic even more interesting for
review is the fact that it has gained prevalence among the youths and affected the associated
demographic characteristics. In this critical review, we will examine the prevalence of sexting
among the young adults, the socio-demographic characteristics of the youths who participate in
sexting, and the relationship between sexting, sexual behavior, and psychological well-being.
Summary
There are generally four categories of sexting that include non-sexters, senders, receivers
and two-way sexters. Non-sexters are those young adults that do not engage in sexting activities,
senders only send these erotic messages but never receive them, receivers only receive the
messages but do not send, while the two-way sexters send and receive (Gordon-Messer,
Bauermeister, Grodzinski & Zimmerman, 2013). Technology has become infused into romantic
relationships in recent years as social media has afforded the young adults opportunities for
sexual encounters (Weisskirch & Delevi, 2011). Most youths aged between 18-29 years have
either sent or received nude or semi-nude photos at least once on their cell phones. In fact,
sexually active youths are more likely to engage in sexting activities than their counterparts who
are not sexually active.
It is also important to note that there is a relationship that exists between the
psychological well-being and sexting. In fact, mental health is linked to the motivation of a youth

CRITICAL REVIEW 3
to engage in sexting. Youths that are socially anxious may prefer texting to calling in order to
make intimate contact. These people are also said to prefer sexting as a medium of making
sexual contact (Gordon-Messer et al., 2013). There are however no pieces of evidence on the
direct relationship between sexting and psychological well-being of individuals. The absence of
this evidence is a major concern in our attempts to understand the relationship between sexting
and mental health. It is important to have this data so that in any case there is a link between
mental health and sexting then a mechanism can be developed to address the issue. Several
pieces of research have suggested that sexting may be related to mental health issues, but other
findings indicate that this activity does not cause depression, anxiety or low self-esteem.
According to Gordon-Messer et al. (2013), male youths are more likely than females to
be receivers rather than senders of sext. The major contributor to this statistic could be as a result
of males receiving erotic messages that were initially intended for other people.
It is also important to note that sexting forms part of the sexual relationships among the
youths but does not necessarily correlate to safer or riskier sexual behaviors. In fact, sexting is
not related to a high number of sexual partners as others may argue (Gordon-Messer et al.,
2013). Some young adults may substitute sexting for physical contact but others do not use
sexting for this purpose. Sexting is more prevalent among the sexually active young adults who
use this activity to either flirt or initiate a sexual relationship.
Critical Evaluation
From the research, it is clear that male young adults are more likely to receive sext than
send them. This revelation could be attributed to the fact that most men normally receive sexts
that are not intended for them but their reactions are in most cases positive. Women, on the other