Frecuencia y caracterización de sexting en la Unidad Educativa del Milenio Manuela Garaicoa de Calderón. Cuenca. 2018

Abstract

Background: “Sexting” is a phenomenon characterized by sending or receiving sexual or erotic content through text messages, photos or videos, it constitutes a new trend among adolescents exposing them to physical and emotional risks, which can endanger their lives. General Objective: Determine the frequency and characterize “sexting” in adolescents of the Millennium Educational Unit “Manuela Garaicoa de Calderón, Cuenca 2018. Materials and methods: Observational, quantitative and descriptive study. 268 surveys were applied among the adolescents enrolled for the 2017-2018 school year, randomly selected. The data was tabulated and analyzed by the Excel and SPSS programs, presented in tables by means of frequencies and percentages with the informed consent and assent of the participants and their legal representatives. Results: The average age was 15.86 years, the most frequent group between 14 to 16 years old, 67.9% female, 69.4% resided in urban areas. 63.1% said practicing sexting; 58.2% were passive and 20.5% active. About passive sexting, the most frequent type of content were photos 77.6%, being Facebook the most used social network 78.8%. In the active sexting his practice was given voluntarily in 81.8% and it was characterized by the sending of texts with propositions about sexual activity through a mobile phone in 41.8%. Conclusions: The practice of sexting was present in more than half of the population, being the passive sexting twice more frequent than active. The results obtained are similar to those reported in the bibliography