Well, well. Looks like it isn't just teens who are using their phones to get some action these days. According to recent studies, the newest group jumping on the sexting bandwagon? Parents.
Teens aren't the only ones sexting anymore
Guess who's sexting now!
While teens who use their smartphones to send racy or explicit text messages has been a hot topic in parenting over the past few years, it seems that parents have been taking tips from the younger crowd. According to recent studies from Lookout Mobile Security , one in five parents are using their smartphone to sext and 30 percent of moms and dads with children under the age of 18 have admitted to sending and/or receiving explicit photos via their phone. Gasp! And those are only the parents who are admitting it! Are you giggling yet? We are.
How sexting can help your relationship
What's that phrase? Oh, yeah: Don't knock it until you try it.
According to these moms who admit to participating in sexting on occasion, it's not nearly as dirty and scandalous as you may think. Both moms chose to stay anonymous, for obvious reasons, but they agreed that sexting is a great way to enhance an already strong relationship with your spouse or partner.
"My husband is out of town a lot for work," one mom tells us. "Sometimes we use sexting to fill in the gaps when we haven't seen each other in a while." This mom, who has two children under the age of 10, continues by saying, "It's not a replacement for sex for us and it's usually at night, when we'd normally be having sex anyway."
Another mom, who has a teenaged son, shares that she was actually the one who initiated sexting with her husband. "He was so shocked, in a good way, that putting myself out there really helped our relationship — both in the bedroom and otherwise." She also says, "It's not something we do every day, just another fun way to spice things up."
Protecting prying eyes
While sexting itself is already pretty adventurous, sexting as a parent carries its own special set of risks. How many of us hand our smartphones over to our kids without thinking twice? You might want to reconsider if you are a parent who sexts, and especially if your child is old enough to read on their own. Yikes.
A few tips to keep your sexting life and your parenting life as far away from each other as possible:
Password protection is key
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Disable that pesky pop-up
More on sexting
Talking to teens about sexting
Sexting and teenagers: Educate or prosecute?
The Best Sex of Your Life: Phone sex