Sexting
Sexting is using your mobile phone or tablet to send sexually explicit messages, photos or images of yourself. The word sexting is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’. Sexting always means trusting and respecting the other person.
Tips for fun sexting
Sexting can be fun and exciting. But there is another side to it that it is not so much fun. Some people don’t like receiving nude photos unexpectedly. And sometimes the photos are shared or shown to other people. Once a photo is “out there” in the digital world you can no longer always control who may see it. These photos can be used to bully or shame someone if someone is angry with you. That is never OK, and it’s even against the law.
Sending tips
How do you keep sexting fun for everyone? Here are some tips:
- Check first whether the other person is OK with you sending nude photos or videos.
- Agree about not sharing photos or videos with other people. It’s private.
- Make sure you know who you’re sexting with.
- Respect yourself and the other person.
- If something goes wrong, you really shouldn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed. So talk about it.
If things go wrong
Sometimes fun sexting can turn into inappropriate sexting. Has a nude photo of you been shared? Or is someone threatening to share a photo of you? You’ve done nothing wrong. But what the other person is doing is definitely wrong. Don’t just keep worrying about it – get help. Tell someone you trust, like your parents, a teacher or counsellor.
What can you do?
Here are some tips for what you can do if you happen to see a nude photo or video of someone else. Take action to give the person it’s happened to some support!
- Don’t share the photo or video with anyone. Delete the images immediately. That is showing respect. Sexy pictures are private.
- Tell the person who sent it to you that it’s not OK.
- Do you know the person in the photo or video? Then tell them that they have your support. Perhaps you could suggest going with them to a teacher or someone else they trust.