Last week Netsafe released their initial research findings into the culture of sexting among young people aged 14 – 17 in New Zealand.

Sexting is a high-profile topic, but there was a lack of local research to tell how widespread it is. This is the first time this type of research has been conducted in New Zealand and it provides plenty of food for thought.

The findings show that teenagers recognise sexting as high risk and rebut the notion that sexting is rife and normalised within this age group. 40 percent of respondents knew someone who had shared an image. Almost one in five teenagers have been asked for nude or nearly nude images in the last year, but only 4 percent of young people actually have engaged in this behaviour.

This research will be further discussed at the Online Safety on the Edge conference this week. If you’re not attending the conference, you can follow all the action on twitter using the hashtag #esafety17 or by following Netsafe.

By Netguide Oct 2017