Sexting Trend Is Rising Among U.S. Adults

Sexting is an act of sending sexually explicit messages or photographs, mainly between smart gadgets or mobile phones. McAfee has revealed 49 percent of U.S. adults use their smartphones to send suggestive photos and videos or some pornographic e-mails and texts.

50 percent of those admitted to storing the sexts and images they receive. Most of them or around 77 percent of sexters send the sexy content to their spouses or partners. 16 percent send it to complete strangers whom they never met with.

McAfee online security expert Robert Siciliano said in a blog post that “I’ve said this before … the rise of Smartphone usage has provided us with tons of convenience, but also brought about different risks we need to consider. Sharing intimate or racy information via mobile devices can set you up for potentially adverse situations.”

Sexting is very much observed with the 18- to 24-year-old group where 70 percent have received sexually suggestive content from someone. 13 percent of men more likely to use their handsets to send and receive such explicit content. 61 percent of men get engaged in such behavior compared to 48 percent of women.

Below is the detailed study on "how we expose ourselves to risk" done by McAfee: 

Image Credit : McAfee

Robert Siciliano in a blog post suggested some really useful things you’ll want to remember as we head into Valentine’s Day before sending that loving message.

• Don’t share passwords with anyone, including romantic interests or family members. For those needing to share a password, create a unique code for the necessary account, and change it immediately if foul play is suspected.
• Always use a PIN or passcode on a mobile device to prevent lost or stolen phones from revealing private information to unknown people who can misuse it.
• "If you do send personal or intimate messages, take the time to delete the content from your mobile device and personal accounts as soon as possible. It doesn’t take that much time and it could save you years of damage control for your reputation."
• Always think before you hit send, post, tweet, etc. that once you share private information it’s now out of your control and you can't do anything to protect your privacy.

Most of the US adults share nude photos and sexts on unsecured Smartphones. Siciliano referred this as “just asking for a social scandal".