“Sexting,” or the sending of one’s own sexy pictures or nudes, is nothing new for many young people. Whether and with whom one exchanges intimate images and messages is fundamentally a very personal decision. However, there are a few things to consider. Here you’ll learn about the potential consequences of inadvertent behavior and what is and isn’t allowed .

Sending intimate and sexy photos to your crush? Maybe you’ve already thought about it or talked about it with your friends. If the photos are very revealing or even nude, it’s called sexting. But text messages with sexual content also fall under this category.

A quarter (25%) of young people aged 11 to 17 have received a sexting message . A similar number of young people report having asked another person for a sexting message. Especially if you’re in a relationship, sending an erotic picture can bring you closer together. Sexting can also be very exciting when you’re just getting to know someone or dating online .

It is important that you are aware of the possible consequences and only do what you feel good about.

Sending nudes – not always allowed

Sending erotic images is prohibited for those under 14, as this is considered child pornography by law. From the age of 14, young people are allowed to send each other intimate images – provided both parties consent . 

Forwarding photos and videos or uploading them to public platforms is generally prohibited for young people under the age of 18. Likewise, you may receive nude photos without your prior consent. This is a form of sexual harassment and also a criminal offense, and you can take action against it.

Sexting with brains

Once the “send” button has been pressed, a lot can go wrong. The images can easily be shared digitally. This isn’t necessarily the fault of the recipient. Perhaps a third party forwarded the images, or your WhatsApp or Snapchat account was hacked, and private photos were made public. 

So, before sending, think carefully about whether you want to send photos of yourself. Here are a few tips: 

• Very important : Don’t let yourself be pressured. It’s okay if you don’t want to take and send erotic pictures of yourself. If you’re unsure, you should listen to your gut and say “no.” 
• Only send pictures to people you completely trust . This doesn’t just apply during your relationship. Consider whether the trust and mutual respect will still be there if you argue or break up. Perhaps you don’t send the pictures at all; instead, you look at them together and then delete them. 
• Ask yourself how the pictures would appear to someone who might see them casually . Parents can easily end up seeing something on your smartphone that wasn’t intended for them. So it’s a good idea to think about how sexy you want the pictures to be when you take them. 
• There’s no such thing as truly “safe .” It’s impossible to send images in a way that guarantees no one other than the recipient will see them. While there are messaging services like Snapchat or WhatsApp that automatically delete images after viewing, you can still take a screenshot beforehand or save the image. 
• By the way : Never forward other people’s pictures. Just as you don’t want the wrong people to see intimate photos of you, others don’t either. Therefore, you should never simply forward or make personal photos public without consent, as this is a criminal offense.

What to do if things go wrong?

Despite all your precautions, your photos can still fall into the wrong hands. Most importantly, don’t blame yourself— it’s not your fault ! Trying new things and exploring your own sexuality is completely normal. You don’t have to be ashamed of that. However, it can be extremely stressful to know that strangers have seen your intimate photos. Therefore, contact a trusted adult, such as your parents, teachers, or aunts and uncles. Together, you can discuss what you can do to get the photos deleted and, if necessary, seek legal advice.