A phone more powerful than the computers used to send humans to the moon sits in everyone's pocket and apparently everyone is using them to 'sext' each other. And apparently, depending on how much you like to 'expose' yourself online can indicated just satisfied you are with your love life according to a new survey.
Online medicine retailer DrEd surveyed 2,000 people about their sexting tendencies and learned some interesting (if not sticky) facts including that daily 'sexters' are much more likely to have a satisfying love life.
The poll doesn't elaborate on why 61% of daily sexters said they feel 'very satisfied' with their nighttime love life activities, but, by comparison, only 19% of those who sext once, or not at all, were able to say the same.
Individuals between 18 and 24 were by far the most active in swapping virtual genitalia online, however, your parents and grandparents are getting in on the game too with adults over the age of 45 also reporting they liked to exchange X-rated photos (even if it is less frequent).
In fact, between 36 and 40% of all American women and men (respectively) between the ages of 18 and 24 report they've sent explicit images to someone in the past, only 26 and 27% of their counterparts in the 45+ age group can say the same.
To absolutely no one's surprise, the survey found that men were FAR more likely to send photos of their twigs and berries in contrast to women who sext.
As a corollary, and also to no one's surprise, women were almost twice as likely to receive unsolicited nudes from men. About 41% of women reported receiving an unwanted or unsolicited sext. Of those aged between 18 and 24, 52% of women say they've received an unwanted sext. Women who were slightly older (between 25 and 34) had a decreased chance of receiving one, and women between the ages of 35 and 44 had a 33% chance of receiving one.
(It seems proper then to remind people that sending a naked photo to someone who could be offended is actually illegal under the Malicious Communications Act). Plus, if you pass a nude photo you receive on to someone else, it could be a breach of copyright or privacy laws - and that's just for adults. Any sending or receiving of nude photos from a minor are completely illegal.
The news about sexting equaling a good sex life is tempered somewhat though by another study. So don't feel too happy about receiving that sext from your BAE. According to another study from the Journal of Sex Research, sexting largely occurs based on how anxious or insecure they may be in their own relationships.
In general, low attachment avoidance and high fear of negative evaluation from the dating partner predicted sending a sexually suggestive photo or video, sending a photo or video in one’s underwear or lingerie, and sending a sexually suggestive text. High fear of negative evaluation predicted sending a nude photo or video as well as sending a text message propositioning sex. Low attachment avoidance, greater fear of negative evaluation, and greater social distress when dating were associated with sexting behaviors.
That is to say, a 'sext' from your boo may not be the relationship-booster you're hoping for after all.