Jiminy is a parenting app, helping parents keep their children’s phones safe.

To better understand the extent of sexting among children, Jiminy analyzed over 54,000,000 text messages and 1.5 million hours of phone usage from phones protected by Jiminy, over the course of nine months. This what we discovered.

A Jiminy report

Children and Sexting

1 in 7(14.8%) of children owning

a smartphone sent or received a sexual message

by age 10

60%of all sexting is mutual,

between the

Nearly

ages of 10 and 17

37.2%had some experience with either incoming, outgoing, or mutual

sexting

by age 13of children

These are the words, phrases and emojis, that

are most likely to appear in messages flagged as

‘sexting’

Sexting takes highly different forms. At younger ages, children may play truth-and-dare games, which become more risqué

the more they advance. Among older kids, sexting will include descriptions of sexual activity. Those chats may occur between kids who know each other, with unknown individuals who kids

meet on the web, or in public chat groups and social apps shared by many anonymous users.

What’s Going on with Sexting?

15.5%12.7%

18.8%

44.4%43.9%

26.9%

39.5%

10.1% 9.8%

34.5%

43.4%

35.1%36.8%

34.8%

41.3%

Sexting is a Problem for Both Genders but Starts Sooner for Girls

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Over 15% of girls who own

smartphones were exposed to sexting

by age 8

28.5%

19.1%

5.9%

38%

27.3%

After mid-adolescence, boys’ sexting frequency

decreases, while girls’ sexting frequency

remains high

BoysGirls

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

11.8% 11.7%14.9%

36.6%

40.6% 39.9%37.2%

42.3%

24.6%27.1%

By the age of 13, more than a third of children owning smartphones will

be exposed to sexting

By the age of 8, more than one in ten kids owning

smartphones will be exposed to sexting

How Common is Sexting?

50%

50%

40%

40%

30%

30%

20%

20%

10%

10%

8

8

9

9

10

10

11

11

12

12

13

13

14

14

15

15

16

16

17

17

Sexting is Mostly Mutual

Girls

Boys

Mutual Only receiving Only sending

Mutual Only receiving Only sending

8.2%

16.9%

4.9%

5.6%

6%

5.9%

24.5%

30%

5.3%

2%

5.3%

6%

25.1%

29%

5%

8.5%

6.7%

6.8%

14.9%

32.4%

12.4%

5.7%

7.5%

5.7%

3.1%

11.6%

1.5%

3.2%

5.2%

4%

28.8%

27.7%

8.6%

7.3%

6.1%

6.3%

4%

4.2%

2%

3%

4%

5.4%

17.8%

26%

9.1%

6.7%

7.6%

6.7%

2%

3.9%12%

13.7%

7.5%

6.6%

7.8%

6.6%

5.9%

5.9%

3.6%

Between the ages of 10 and 17, 58.5% of all sexting was mutual

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Requests for Nudes Start Early

As part of the chats, kids may ask each other to send explicit pictures or videos. Requests for pictures and videos reach their height in mid-adolescence when one in three children owning smartphones will be involved in such

discussions. Girls tend to have more such discussions, both in the preteen years and in their later adolescence.

3.6%1.8%

6.8%

14.2%15.4%

26%

30.3%

24%

19.2%

29%

22.9%

16.7%14.9%

30%

20.9%

14.6%

9.7%

3.6%3%

0%

8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

BoysGirls

24%

were asked to send nudes or requested

them themselves

by age 13of children

Teens have always been drawn to sexual exploration. Since the advent of the smartphone, sexting has become a common means of carrying it forth. However, unlike the adult magazine or video of previous generations, sexting carries a unique set of risks. Sexting forces the minor to be an active participant, rather than a passive observer.

While it may not come as a surprise that kids partake in sexting, its frequency and nature have largely remained opaque.Most teens will not share details of their sexual explorations with adults and most parents will remain oblivious to what might be happening with their kids. Moreover, children are unlikely to self-report reliably about sexting. Jiminy is an app that facilitates open discussions about online safety between

The Risks of Sexting

Researching Sexting by Minors

Sexting involves interactions with people, including strangers, whose access to the child may cause significant harm. And finally, unlike other forms of pornography, sexting leaves a mark, typically in the form of words, pictures and videos. These traces can follow the minor for years to come.

parents and their children, by sending parents general information about their kids’ phone usage. By alerting parents of problematic patterns and toxic behaviors, they can then have time to come up with an effective and appropriate response. Over the past two years, Jiminy has collected a data sample of over 1.5 million chats. Using this data, Jiminy is in a unique position to discuss the state of sexting over the next decade.

Directional Patterns of SextingFor the purpose of this report, Jiminy identified the following distinct directional patterns among kids:

Couples who engage in sexting and know each other in real life

A minor who repeatedly engages in sexting with anonymous strangers

A minor who sends sexual messages to numerous others

without receiving many responses

A minor who sends numerous messages to another person

who does not respond

Exploration in Couples

Exploration Without a Relationship

Propositioning

Stalking

Sexting is quickly becoming a normative form of sexual exploration among preteens and teens. As such, parents should expect the real possibility that their children may be approached by others, known or unknown, or approach others in a sexually explicit manner. This behavior may carry risks but does not necessarily lead to harm, as teens may begin sexting at later ages, choose their partners wisely, engage only in behaviors they are ready for, and take active measures to keep their information confidential.

Jiminy is an AI-powered parenting app, helping parents navigate their child's digital life, ensuring they are safe and secure online. Jiminy prioritizes protecting children by alerting parents of problematic patterns and toxic behaviors in their children’s phone usage, messaging, and browsing, and then provides parents with strategies on how to navigate these challenges.

To find out more, visit www.jiminy.meOr contact us at hello@jiminy.me

What Every Parent Should Know

It is our recommendation that due to the ubiquity of sexting, parents should stay informed and actively talk with their children about it, and do so at an earlier age then they imagine they should.

Such talks should include findings ways to deflect others who may approach the child online, learning how to approach others in a respectful manner, and discussing ways to keep one safe when deciding to sext.

Copyright © 2019 by Jiminy Advanced Parenting Solutions