A fifth of teens send naked photos over web

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 12 Dec 2008 at 08:55

One in five teenagers has sent nude or semi-naked photos of themselves over the internet.

The alarming figures come from a survey conducted by the US National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which was examining the role of technology in sexual activity.

The survey found that 15% of the teenagers who had sent naked photos had sent them to people they had only ever met online.

Girls were more likely to send risqué photos of themselves than boys, with 22% admitting they had done so. Just over one in ten 13-16 year-old girls admitted they had sent naked/semi-naked snaps.

The survey also revealed how those photos often spread across the internet, with 36% of teen girls and 39% of teen boys claiming it was common for nude or semi-nude photos to be shared with people other than the intended recipient.

The findings come in the same week as the Internet Watch Foundation's attempt to block British access to a 30-year-old album cover of a naked girl on Wikipedia.

The IWF lifted the ban on Wednesday, after admitting its attempts to censor the photo had backfired.