Study: 2/3 Of Mobile Users Have Tried Sexting

According to the results of a study recently conducted by the Kinsey Institute of Indiana University (jointly done with Clue, a women’s health startup firm based in Berlin, Germany), 67 percent of the polled participants have claimed that they have tried sexting somebody. This represents a new high, especially when compared to an earlier study done by the Kinsey Institute back in 2012, which only reported 21 percent of respondents saying they have tried sexting.

So what does this increasing incidence of sexting mean? As explained by Amanda Gesselman, one of the researchers at the Kinsey Institute, this rise may mean that today’s consumers are now more comfortable than ever in incorporating technology into their private lives. Gesselman further pointed out that sexting may be fast becoming a normal thing to do whenever people try to build a romantic or amorous relationship with others.

In completing the study, the research team gathered answers from more than 140,000 respondents from close to 200 countries around the world. The survey questions ranged from how often people use dating apps to what they usually do when engaging in sexting. So far, the results seem to indicate that, for better or worse, our sex lives now involve the latest in mobile technology, too.

Most people in the United States still do old school sexting -- that is, by way of short message service (SMS). But there is evidence that newer messaging communication platforms, like Snapchat for instance, are becoming more and more popular among sexters. Unsurprisingly, those belonging to younger demographics are the busiest when it comes to sexting on Snapchat. The Kinsey Institute study reports that 43 percent of those with ages between 18 years old and 20 years old claim that they have taken full advantage of Snapchat when sexting somebody. 

The researchers also tried to find out what motivates people when using dating apps. The reasons range from seeking sincere connections and companionship, while for others, they just really want to get laid. A certain percentage just like to exchange messages and of course, sexts. Intriguingly, the least cited motivation was to find “friends with benefits.”

Still, there is some pretty good news. It turns out that today’s mobile apps are also being used by people to educated themselves with regards to sex. And it is interesting to note that virgins are about as likely to use technology to get educated about sex (17 percent) than those who are no longer virgins (19 percent). 27 percent of men have claimed they had used an app to learn about sex, while only 18 percent of ladies have claimed the same thing. According to Gesselman, this may have something to do with females’ tendency to talk to their friends about sex, while males are more likely to just search about it on the Internet.