Study Hopes to Find Motivation Behind Sexting

Researchers at Burnet Institute are hoping to shed light on what motivates people to send sexually explicit messages and images, also known as sexting.

Dr Megan Lim, the head of sexual health at the institute's Centre for Population Health, said that little is known about sexting, but its 2013 annual health survey showed that the practice has become widespread.

She said that the survey's first part is trying to uncover how widespread sexting is and the second consists of focus groups with up to 30 young people.

Lim explained that they want to know what motivates people to sext, whether it's pressure or they do it as a joke.

She said that the team is also hoping to gauge how well informed young people are about the legal ramifications of sexting.

For the first time, the Burnet Institute asked a question about sexting in its annual health survey, which was conducted with 1500 people in the age group of 16-29.

Source: ANI