News Investigation

Children as young as 10 years old are sending sexually-explicit images to friends

Sep 2016 🇦🇺 news.com.au Ages 10–15

This news.com.au article reports on sexting among Australian schoolchildren, citing Australian Institute of Criminology figures that 38% of surveyed teens aged 13–15 had sent sexual images, with girls doing so more often than boys, and noting the legal risk of criminal records for minors involved. Michael Carr-Gregg is quoted estimating sexting occurs among roughly 20% of primary-school-aged children he encounters clinically, calling the pattern 'not as rare as people think' and describing some outcomes as 'catastrophic.' He attributes part of the problem to children gaining phones and social media accounts, often via older siblings, before he says they and their parents are ready to manage the risks, and urges parents to set firmer limits rather than yield to peer pressure. TechKids Foundation cites this as documented commentary connecting early device and social-media access to sexting risk.

38% of teens aged 13–15

An Australian Institute of Criminology report cited in the article found 38% of surveyed teens aged 13–15 had sent a sexual image, with girls sending more frequently than boys.

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CITATION

Smith, Rohan. "Children as young as 10 years old are sending sexually-explicit images to friends." news.com.au, 26 September 2016. https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/children-as-young-as-10-years-old-are-sending-sexuallyexplicit-images-to-friends/news-story/6723b343c7566ae77a060425543c49d7

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