US study shows teen sexting scare overblown

video: teen sexting rate drops*

from smh: One in 10 American children aged between 10 and 17 has used a mobile phone to send or receive sexually suggestive images, but only 1 in 100 has sent images considered graphic enough to violate US child pornography laws, a new study has found. The results of the study, published on Monday in the US medical journal Pediatrics, are based on detailed telephone interviews with 1560 children across the country. It is one of the largest surveys to look at the prevalence of sexting among minors, a phenomenon that has drawn concern from schools and law enforcement and that has prompted nationwide legislation trying to curb it. An earlier, often-cited study had estimated that as many as one in five teenagers engaged in sexting, but it included 18- and 19-year-olds, most likely increasing the overall prevalence.