Sexting on Campus: Minimizing Perceived Risks and Neutralizing Behaviors

Abstract

This study analyzes 85 personal narratives to explore the ways young adults navigate sexting exchanges and find meaning in them within the college context. We find that respondents who sext and those who abstain both believe that sexting carries significant risks, including the possibility that one’s sext could be shared with unintended viewers. Respondents attempt to minimize perceived risks through content control strategies such as “keeping it fun,” limiting explicitness, and creating plausible deniability. Moreover, respondents offer accounts aimed at neutralizing their discreditable actions through the claim of normalcy, justification by comparison, and the claim of benefits. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for micro-sociological perspectives on deviant behavior.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We list authorship alphabetically; both authors made equal contributions to this article.

Notes

1. ¹The campus enrollment is approximately 535 students, which produces a close-knit community. The patterns we observe on this campus may not hold for larger institutions offering greater anonymity or for more diverse student bodies.

2. ²We did not observe any differences among narratives from respondents across the sexual orientation categories, so we included all in the analysis. We encourage future research to explore similarities and differences among individuals across these categories of experience and identity.

3. ³We should note that a handful of respondents who abstain from sexting but who “have friends who do it” also invoked the claim of normalcy and justification by comparison when explaining their attitudes toward sexting and those who engage in the behavior. These respondents appear reluctant to label their friends as deviants. Several abstainers, however, firmly argued that sexting is always deviant. Their moral claims often pointed to individual failings, arguing that those who sext must be “ignorant of the risks,” have an inappropriate “desire to be wanted” or “lack of boundaries,” or suffer from “low self-esteem.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel G. Renfrow

DANIEL G. RENFROW is Associate Professor of Sociology at Wells College. His research and teaching explore the social psychological foundations of inequalities embedded within patriarchal, heteronormative, and anthropocentric practices. His current research (with undergraduate collaborators Alissa Toner, Leslie Green, and Valerie Provenza) examines the construction of masculinities through the practices men use to transform their bodies (e.g., workout, dietary, and grooming regimens).

Elisabeth A. Rollo

ELISABETH A. ROLLO graduated from Wells College with a B.A. in Sociology in 2012. She resides in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York where she works in radio.