Sexting in the public domain

Competing discourses in online news article comments in the USA and the UK involving teenage sexting

Bibliographic Data

ID21190819
AuthorsElizabeth M Jenkins (Ohio University, corresponding author), Glen H Stamp (Ball State University)
Year2018
Volume12
Issue3
Pages295-311
Publication date2018-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Children and Media (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-2798 • E-ISSN: 1748-2801
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17482798.2018.1431556
OpenAlexW2791808364
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited32

The current study examined the phenomenon of teenage sexting through an analysis of 1030 comments from 15 online stories in the US and the UK. Four competing messages emerged: (1) Innocuity: Is sexting a harmless or harmful activity?; (2) Comparability: Were teenagers in the past the same or different than current teenagers?; (3) Criminality: Is teenage sexting a criminal offense or a legal activity?; and (4) Sexuality: Is teenage sexting sexual exploration or sexual exploitation? The online comments indicated an overall struggle between two different discursive constructions of sexting: A discourse of normal connection and a discourse of aberrant exposure. Implications of these findings are discussed

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