What’s your ‘sext’ drive? Examining female emerging adults’ experiences of sharing visual sexual content through communication technologies

• Author / Creator

  Le, Lily

• Sexting describes transmitting sexual material through communication technologies such as cell phones. Despite the commonplace nature of sexting among young people and the popularity of the topic in the media, few studies have examined sexting from the perspectives of young people. This exploratory study examined three female emerging adults’ lived experiences of sharing visual sexual content of self through communication technologies. Participants completed individual interviews with the researcher regarding their perspectives, motivations, and experiences of sexting. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was employed and results were analyzed according to the procedure outlined by Smith, Flowers, and Larkin (2009). Five themes emerged: (1) characteristics of relationship, (2) recognizing risk, (3) taking control, (4) enjoying sexting, and (5) juggling different personal perspectives. The results are discussed in terms of implications for sexual health education and mental health practitioners.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Emerging adults
  • Sexting

• Graduation date

  Spring 2016

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Education

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3R785X28

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.