When sexting becomes “sexteen”: Exploring Parental Attitudes and Regulations of Adolescent Sexting
Details
Serval ID
serval:BIB_3DEFEB03BB9B
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
When sexting becomes “sexteen”: Exploring Parental Attitudes and Regulations of Adolescent Sexting
Journal
Sexuality and Culture
ISSN
1095-5143 (print)
1936-4822 (electronic)
1936-4822 (electronic)
Publication state
In Press
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Language
english
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, adolescent sexting has attracted popular media and scientific interest, with research showing the growing participation of adolescents in this sexual practice. While most studies on youth sexting have focused on adolescents’ perspectives, the few that include parents have primarily examined parenting practices quantitatively as predictors of adolescent sexting behaviors. However, little is known about parents’ own representations of youth sexting, particularly in terms of their perspectives and responses. To fill this gap, this qualitative study draws on semi-structured interviews with 13 Belgian parents (10 mothers and 3 fathers, 44–60 years) of adolescents (16–18 years). Interviews with participants were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. We identified three central themes: (1) Sexting as surrogate love illustrates how parents see sexting as an act that does not fully reflect “genuine” intimacy and incompatible with “real-life” affection; (2) The role of an adolescent’s parent highlights parents’ efforts to navigate youth sexting by balancing trust, equipping their teens with tools for navigating digital life, and guiding them on matters of online intimacy; and (3) Gender and sexting: an ambivalence explores parents’ ambivalent views on the gendered dynamics of sexting, emphasizing the gendered consequences of the practice while striving for a more genderneutral approach when addressing the issue with their teens. Based on our results, parent programs could educate parents in more nuanced ways, emphasizing potential benefits adolescents find in this practice, while avoiding conflation with nonconsensual acts such as aggravated sexting.
Keywords
adolescence, parenting, sexting, gender, reflexive thematic analysis
Funding(s)
European Research Council (ERC) / 950289
Create date
28/02/2024 21:28
Last modification date
24/01/2025 7:11