Topic special "Sexting" at Handysektor

Sexting, the sending of one's own nude pictures, is nothing unusual for many young people. According to JIM 2015, a quarter of young people have heard someone send them erotic or provocative photos or films of themselves by cell phone or over the Internet. To inform teenagers about sexting and the possible risks that can arise from it, www.handysektor.de publishes a topic special including an explanatory video.

Topic special "Sexting" at Handysektor
Illustration from "Let's talk about Porn!", February 2011. Drawing: Sarah Burrini; www.sarahburrini.com

What is sexting?
Sexting is made up of the words "sex" and "texting". Users create erotic photos or video clips of themselves - sometimes in underwear or completely naked. The intimate images are then sent without much effort by cell phone via services such as WhatsApp, Snapchat or Skype.

The reasons for sexting are varied
As a rule, sexting does not involve the dissemination of secretly taken photos. In most cases, the pictures are sent deliberately, e.g. to the steady boyfriend or girlfriend. The reasons for this are varied: from the desire for self-affirmation and feedback on one's own body, to try out oneself sexually online, to generating interest when flirting, to showing love to the relationship partner.

The problem here is that the recipient can easily save the images and send them on. The sender thus quickly loses control over the dissemination of the personal images. Once the images are in the public domain, this can be very stressful for the person concerned. 

Handysektor video explains sexting at
Even if sexting is part of a self-determined sexuality, there is no such thing as safe sexting. In order to sensitize young people for possible risks, the youth portal Handysektor reports in June in a topic special on sexting. In addition to tips on self-expression, legal aspects and the right way to use special picture apps (e.g. Snapchat) are also addressed. The explanatory video on the topic can be viewed here and is available in nine languages. In addition, the current episode of the Handysektor soap is also about sexting. Available next Sunday from 2 p.m. on the Instagram channel of @handysektor.

 

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