• Posted February 17, 2026

Teen Sexting Has Surged In U.S.

Teen “sexting” has surged in the U.S., leaving countless teenagers vulnerable to harassment, exploitation and extortion, a new study says.

Nearly 1 in 3 teens (32%) have received a sext, and almost 1 in 4 (24%) has sent one, researchers reported in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

That’s up from 2019, when 23% of teens said they’d received a sext and 14% had sent one, researchers said.

“Our findings make it clear that sexting is not rare among adolescents – it’s a common part of many young people’s digital lives,” said senior researcher Sameer Hinduja, a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter, Florida.

“What is deeply concerning, however, is how often these experiences are tied to coercion, nonconsensual sharing and sextortion,” Hinduja said in a news release.

Sexting involves sending or receiving sexually explicit images or video, researchers said.

These sexts can be shared without the sender’s consent, potentially leading to embarrassment and bullying, researchers said.

Worse, they can be used for “sextortion” — threats to share a teen’s explicit images unless they pay money, provide more images or sexual favors or agree to other demands, researchers said.

For the new study, researchers surveyed nearly 3,500 13- to 17-year-olds about sexting and potential negative consequences.

Among teens who’d sent a sext, nearly half (47%) said their image was shared with others without their permission. 

Younger teens were at greater risk, with more than 60% of 13-year-olds saying their image had been shared without consent compared to 41% of 17-year-olds.

Sextortion also emerged as a strikingly common experience, researchers said.

Half of teenagers (50%) who had sent a sext said they later received a sextortion threat, and nearly a third (30%) who’d received a sext admitted using it to blackmail another person.

These risks hinged greatly on the recipient of the sext, researchers found.

Compared to teens who only sexted with a boyfriend or girlfriend, teens who sent sexts to someone outside a current relationship had:

• More than 13 times higher risk to have their image shared without consent

• Nearly five times higher risk of being targeted for sextortion

Boys were more likely to have received (36% versus 29%) or sent (30% versus 18%) a sext compared to girls, the study showed.

Boys also were significantly more likely than girls to be a target of sextortion (55% versus 40%) and to have participated in sextortion (39% versus 19%), researchers found.

“Our study underscores the urgent need to move beyond simple 'don’t sext’ messages and instead provide youth with meaningful education around consent, boundaries and digital safety, while equipping parents, educators and policymakers with the tools to better prevent harm and respond when it occurs,” Hinduja said.

Teenagers need to understand that most students don’t engage in sexting, and be taught how to recognize and respond to such requests as well as other distressing sexual behaviors, researchers said.

“Supporting teens in developing digital literacy and healthy online habits is just as important as guiding their in-person behavior,” Hinduja said. “By teaching youth how to recognize risky situations, protect their privacy and make informed choices online, we can reduce harm while respecting their autonomy. It’s not about fear or punishment – it’s about equipping them to navigate a complex digital world safely.”

More information

Planned Parenthood has more on sexting.

SOURCES: Florida Atlantic University, news release, Feb. 12, 2026; Journal of Adolescent Health, Feb. 7, 2026