Nearly half of Irish teenagers aged between 15 and 18 have received requests to send sexually explicit pictures according to a recent study produced by The Anti-Bullying Centre at Dublin Institute of Technology.
According to Newstalk, lead author of the study, Dr. Mairead Foody said the findings were not a surprise as similar results have been seen internationally. She said : “In this sample, we had nearly half (45%) saying they were frequently asked to send an image – but that number jumps way down when you ask people ‘did you actually send a sexual image’.
“When we did ask them who you sent the image to, they’re saying it’s probably a boyfriend, girlfriend or someone I had a crush on – that’s the bulk of the figures. She said there was a gender aspect to the findings, as girls were more likely to be sent images without requesting them”.
Dr. Foody issued some sound advice to parents when she said “Probably parents are naturally afraid about [this issue], so I think it’s important they open a dialogue with their children around it.”
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