English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips > Special Speed News VOA慢速

'Sexting' study finds low rate among young

[ 2011-12-12 12:58]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

'Sexting' study finds low rate among young

This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

New research shows that "sexting" is not as common among young people as earlier findings suggested.

Last week the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire released two studies. The researchers interviewed more than 1,500 Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17. Just two and a half percent of them said they had either sent or received naked pictures over their mobile phones or the Internet.

Earlier surveys had suggested that as many as 20 percent of teens were involved in such activities. But one problem is that some of those findings included young adults -- 18- and 19-year-olds.

Dan Rauzi is senior director for technology programs for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He says another problem is confusion among teenagers about what exactly "sexting" means.

DAN RAUZI: "For example, the University of New Hampshire study -- what they found was that what some teens called sexting were really maybe pictures of themselves in a bathing suit."

Mr Rauzi says these and other suggestive images have sometimes been reported as sexting.

Marian Merritt is the Internet safety advocate for the computer security company Norton. She says the New Hampshire researchers considered this confusion in the latest research.

MARIAN MERRITT: "They segmented the really most egregious or dangerous kinds of images people might be posting and sending from texts that might be more suggestive."

Ms Merritt says very few of the images in this latest study would have been considered illegal.

MARIAN MERRITT: "The kinds of images or videos that might constitute child pornography is very low. It's only one percent. So the good news is it's a very rare phenomenon and most young people are not engaging in these kinds of behaviors."

Everyone knows young people are early adapters of technology. Dan Rauzi say their experimentation often raises concern with adults -- like the recent fears about sexting. But it also has another effect.

DAN RAUZI: "We get a new technology in and teens, they push that envelope and in some ways as a society help us see all of the possibilities with new technologies, as well."

The new study appeared in the journal Pediatrics. In a second study, the New Hampshire researchers found that very few sexting cases investigated by police led to arrests. Marian Merritt is glad about that.

MARIAN MERRITT: "The other bit of good news is that over the last several years we've seen law enforcement across the country start to take a more modulated approach, and not going for full enforcement of, you know, a mistake - a momentary lapse in judgment from young people who don't understand the power of the images they may be sharing."

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report, written by June Simms. Next week, we'll talk more about teens and technology, including a practice known as "cyberbaiting." I'm Steve Ember.

sexting: 色情短信

egregious: 惊人的;过分的;恶名昭彰的

cyberbaiting: 网上欺辱

Related Stories:

最令人反感网络新词出炉 “sexting”居首

调查:五分之一英国人曾错发色情短信

美青少年发性短信成风 引政府担忧

网络钓鱼 phishing

(来源:VOA 编辑:Rosy)

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn