Our seminar for parents, held in partnership with the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, explored issues around technology and the mental health of children and teenagers. The aim of our seminar was to bring together parents with experts in neuroscience, parenting, mental health and the impact of technology on all of these areas. We shared ideas and experiences, learned from pioneering work in the field and will continue with similar events to ensure that provide the best possible environment in which pupils may thrive.

1. {
Young people and
technology: Sexting,
pornography and body
image
Dr Emily Setty
e.setty@surrey.ac.uk

2.  The impacts of technology upon young people
 Encountering pornography
 Body image
 ‘Sexting’
 What I found out from my research with young
people about their digital sexual practices
 What do young people want/need?
Outline of my talk

3.  Shaping and re-shaping their experiences – body image,
pornography and ‘sexting’
 New norms, practices and standards and tactics of behaviour
Young people and
technology
Arcabascio, 2009; Cupples and Thompson, 2010; Jonsson et al., 2014; Lenhart, 2009, 2010; Livingstone and Smith,
2014; Hodkinson, 2015; Pertierra, 2005; Prensky, 2011; Ringrose and Harvey, 2015
 Young people spending an
increasing amount of time
online in the ‘digital world’
 Impacts upon identity exploration
and expression, sociality,
connection with others, interaction
with the social world

4.  Young people’s experiences are being reshaped by technology – intensifies their
experiences but the issues they are facing can be understood in terms of their
youth culture and long-standing social meanings and cultural practices
 ‘Not my kid!’ – it doesn’t matter where your child sits in terms of digital practices
(whether they do it or not). There is a merging of offline and online, school and
home – what plays out in one plays out in the other, and all young people are
working through it in their peer cultures (i.e. they are bystanders even if not
actively involved)
Important premises…
boyd, 2012; boyd and Marwick, 2011; Hodkinson 2015; Ringrose and Harvey 2015
 Technology not imposing itself on young
people or *causing* them do one thing or the
other
 Young people are ‘active’ – they are
interacting with technology and shaping
their experiences
 Not all are ‘digital natives’ – some don’t
really like technology!

5. Children’s Commissioner (2017)
 Young people encountering porn online ‘by accident’
 Increasing exposure with age
 Boys watching more often (and more deliberately)
than girls
 Most not watching pornography regularly
Encountering
pornography

6.  Exposure  desensitisation
 Some young people see porn as realistic (50% of boys and 40% of girls)
 Boys more likely to have positive attitudes toward pornography than girls
 Older young people more likely to see it as unrealistic and exploitative
 Most feel that porn has not taught them about safe sex or positive relationships
 Some young people getting ‘ideas’ for sexual activities from porn
 Perceptions that porn may impact on expectations of girls’ and boys’ sexual behaviour
 Young people want information, advice and support – age appropriate, inclusive and interesting
 Need to prepare young people for what they may encounter and give them critical awareness and
education around healthy relationships
Impacts of online
pornography

7.  High prevalence of body dissatisfaction, eating disorders and
dieting among young people, particularly girls
 Cultural representations of ‘ideal body types’ in traditional
media
 Pressure on both girls and boys to adhere to ‘ideal standards’
Body image
 Traditional media
impacts upon young
people’s self-
perceptions
Lowes and Tiggerman, 2003; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2009; Jones, 2002; Smith et al. 2013; Leit et al. 2001; Gill et al. 2015;
Salter, 2015; Ferguson et al. 2014; Grabe, Ward and Hyde, 2008; Lawler and Nixon, 2011)

8.  ‘Social media’ – scrutiny of self and others, social comparison,
dissatisfaction
 Can enhance confidence and self-esteem but also risk of self-objectification
and over-emphasis
Body image and social media
(Torna, 2013; Gonzales and Hancock, 2011; de Vries and Peter, 2013; Bosch, 2011; Dobson, 2011; Dobson, 2012; Ringrose, 2011; Renold and
Ringrose, 2011; Weber and Mitchell, 2008) See Common Sense Media (2015) Children, Teens, Media and Body Image, for a review
 Social media may provide
opportunities to challenge
traditional ideas of beauty and
appearance
 Need to understand more about how
young people engage with cultural
representations, sexism and
stereotypes, and challenge/re-work
norms and standards in their self-
perceptions and self-portrayals

9.  Digital production and exchange of
sexual messages or images where
someone appears naked/partly naked
 Illegal for young people under the age
of 18 to appear in messages under child
pornography legislation, although some
efforts to avoid undue criminalisation of
young people
 I spoke with young people aged 14 to 18
about their experiences sexting and their
attitudes and perceptions about the
phenomenon
 Here is some of what I found…
Sexting
College of Policing (2016) A common sense police approach to investigating sexting among under-18s. Available at:
http://www.college.police.uk/News/College-news/Pages/Sexting-briefing-note.aspx
Crown Prosecution Service (2017) Guidelines on prosecuting child sexual abuse. London: CPS.

10.  Normalised but - not all young people are doing it!
 Recent meta-analysis shows it is a potentially substantial but minority
activity1
 Receiving images more common than sending
 Gender differences unclear – may be sexting at similar rates but differences
in the meaning of their practices
 All the young people I spoke to were aware of it and had strong views (one
way or the other)
 Generally awareness stems from a ‘big incident’ of ‘sexting gone wrong’
 Very risk averse attitudes – normalisation of breaches of consent and
privacy in ‘youth digital sexual culture’
Normalisation
of sexting
1. Madigan, S., Ly, A., Rash, C.L., Van Ouystel, J. and Temple, J.R. (2018) ‘Prevalence of multiple forms of sexting behavior among youth:
a systematic review and meta-analysis’, JAMA Pediatrics, 172(4) pp. 327-335.

11. 15 year-old girl: It’s better not to risk it though, because in
this society you’ve seen it happen to other people, you’ve seen
what it’s done to their lives.
15 year-old boy: Especially what it’s done to this generation
we’re more like, we’re more sent pictures and like we’ll feel the
consequences of that.
“Not necessarily the photo [is distributed], but people
would get told eventually that someone, so and so sent
a picture to someone, they have the picture, whatever.”
(15 year-old boy)

12.  Youth sexting practices can be non-consensual
– pressured, coerced sexting, unwanted
images etc.
 Seems to affect girls more than boys
 Can see the interaction between sexism and
shaming of girls in the peer group with sexting
practices
Young people’s experiences
 Girls seen as ‘slutty’, ‘attention-seeking’
while boys seen as ‘hormonal’, ‘naturally
sexual’  underpins predatory, non-
consensual practices from boys toward girls
 Girls should say ‘no’ while boys are just
‘being boys’

13. “They’re not able to… live on their own and feel valued. And the threat of
losing someone like that would maybe pressure them into sending a photo
that they may not want to do, but they consent to do, because they have said
yes and sent the image.” (16-year-old boy)
“…he… requests and she’s the one who is accepting them, the guy has to go
out and make these requests, it’s the same thing as sending a picture of
himself. At some point, he doesn’t care, he just feels like a macho character
and he can send all these photos around and he doesn’t care, but the girl…
she is like a gem and everyone is chasing after that and once she gives that
away, it’s like she’s… lost her value...” (17-year-old boy)
“And I find when they do ask for one, and you say no… they’ll get
aggressive and stop talking to you, and just not caring about you
anymore. Like, oh I got close to her for a reason and she’s not giving
me that, so I’ll just leave her to it.” (16-year-old girl)
“No, most of the time, you’re kinda like comfy in your bed… and
he’s like, gimme a nude now and… it’s awkward… it’s hard to
explain the situation, but yeah, I haven’t really wanted to in some
situations.” (16-year-old girl)

14. I: And do guys… hear that when you say no to them?
All: No, no.
15-year-old girl: Some do –
16-year-old girl: It’s kind of like respect.
15-year-old girl: Some are like, oh no, come on, just do it.
16-year-old girl: Come on baby, just one picture.
16-year-old girl: It’s like, it’s not gonna go anywhere.
16-year-old girl: You can trust me, and you’re like, no.
Negotiating consent

15. 17-year-old boy: Well if, this is gonna be very brash and controversial, but if you say yes,
even if, say… someone’s forcing you to do something, and you say yes, you’ve given
consent, even if you don’t want to, you should, if you don’t want to that much, just say no,
no, no. Because then they can’t argue that you haven’t given them consent because you have
said no, even if you don’t want to, just keep saying no. Never say, ah ok.
16-year-old boy: At that point, it’s consent. At that point, the law says it’s consent.
I: Do you guys see it that way, or differently? So, there might be pressure, so somebody
acquiesces… gives in and says yes, is it, kind of, the person should have kept saying no, or –
Negotiating consent (cont.)
16-year-old boy: It depends where we wanna draw
the lines, if we decide that when they say, however
they feel, when they say yes that’s consent. Or we
draw the line and say they actually need to want to
do it, but how do you do that?
17-year-old boy: How do you read that?
16-year-old boy: We have to say that you say yes
and that’s it…

16.  Unauthorised distribution of images
 The risk everyone is concerned about – including young people
 Very impactful when it happens
 Why do young people do this?
‘Sexting gone wrong’
 To socially shame and
ostracise those who breach
social norms
 Can affect both boys and girls
 But girls images especially can
be shared for boys to bond over
 Again, can see the interplay
between young people’s
broader peer cultures and
sexting

17. “[attractive girls’ pictures are okay] because when you
see it, you like it, whereas when it’s a girl you don’t
wanna see, you don’t like it. So, it’s kind of like you’ve
got more hate towards it. Because it’s something you
didn’t wanna see.” (15-year-old boy)
“… say a boy goes topless, it’s a lot more of the
norm than if a girl walks around in her bra, so
and all that happens a lot, boys will post a picture
of them like topless on Instagram and no one will
bat an eyelid.” (17-year-old boy)
“you’re just [seen as] a slut” (14-year-old girl)

18.  Young people very aware of the social risks
 They blame other young people for being ‘stupid’ and taking the
risk (and this can lead to bullying)
 But – young people are facing a lot of pressures
 Pressures on girls especially to ‘please boys’ and show their bodies
Impacts of sexting
 Bullying, abuse, social shaming and
ostracism

19. “It also gets put onto you, if you don’t want certain people seeing
stuff, don’t put it on there… your privacy is completely and utterly
down to you… if you’re worried about someone seeing something,
don’t put it up there.” (17-year-old boy)
I think that if they do get bullied or something, at the end of
the day they will learn from their mistakes and will be like,
I’m never gonna do that again.” (16-year-old boy)
“I don’t understand how you can get pressured into it. All you’ve
got to say is, what have you got against me? If someone pressured
you into taking a photo like that, what can they do?” (17-year-old
boy)
“I don’t understand why I would’ve done it to be honest. Just thinking about
it, like now I wouldn’t even, like I can understand they were obviously just
like using me… they didn’t like me at all, they were just like interested in like
for one thing... I’m just like, I don’t know, like ashamed of myself for sort of,
not really thinking things over before doing it.” (17-year-old girl)

20.  Some of the girls spoke about enjoying sexting
 Sexting with boys they like
 But sometimes can experience pressure (so not
always truly consensual?)
 Also part of ‘visual culture’ – girls share images
with each other and online
 Bonding, getting ‘feedback’
Sometimes it can be fun!

21. “I think with boyfriends and girlfriends… they
respect each other, each other’s bodies and stuff, and
if you’re like, hey, I think I kind of look nice, it’s
nice to have someone be like, oh yeah, you do look
nice, like give you confidence, not necessarily in… a
sexual way.” (17-year-old girl)
“Yeah, like with a lot of friends there’s… not many
barriers, I find. And you can be like, look I’ve bought
a cute new bra, take a look at it.” (17-year-old girl)
“And it takes away the bad side of it and you’re like, oh,
I feel good about myself now, so… what’s the big deal if I
do it… you always think it’s not gonna get out and then
when it does you’re like, oh.” (16-year-old girl)

22.  To talk!
 Non-judgmental adult
 Non-shaming
 Shame and judgment may prevent young people getting help when
they need it
“Like, if you did tell your parents, you obviously did it with good
intention… for example you say, Dad I got this picture from this girl, what
should I do? Yeah, but at the end of the day, imagine you’ve sent the picture
out… how would your parents react?” (16-year-old boy)
 Peer-based support – someone who has been there
 Equality and fairness in the peer group
 Potential for ‘bystander intervention’ and challenging harmful
practices
 Recognition that the online world/digital practices are not all bad or
all good
What do young people want?

23.  [The things they want!]
 As well as…
 Critical conversations about what they encounter online
and the broader social meanings and cultural practices that
shape what they do online
What do young people need?
 Sexism, shaming in the peer group
shaping harmful practices that young
people perpetrate toward one another
 Risk aversion among young people
may be reassuring at first, but actually
feeds into bullying and abuse of
those who make a “mistake”

24.  Same problems, different medium?
 Merging of offline and online – no separate ‘online world’
 But technology comes with affordances that are intensifying
young people’s experiences
 Key question: what kind of adults do we want them to be?
 Need to be talking about identity, relationships, rights (consent
and privacy), respect (of self and others)
 Challenging gender stereotypes, sexism…
Conclusion