美青少年發性短信成風 引政府擔憂

Fifteen percent of US teenagers aged 12 to 17 who own mobile phones have received nude or nearly nude images of someone they know, according to a survey released on Tuesday.

Only four percent of mobile phone-owning teens in that age group have sent sexually suggestive pictures of themselves, a practice known as "sexting," according to the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

The Pew survey found that girls and boys were equally as likely to have sent a suggestive picture to another person and older teenagers were more likely to have engaged in "sexting."

Eight percent of 17-year-olds with mobile phones have sent a sexually provocative image by text and 30 percent have received a nude or nearly nude image on their phone.

Only four percent of 12-year-olds have sent suggestive images of themselves.

Amanda Lenhart, a senior research specialist at Pew and the author of the report, said sexually suggestive images have become a form of "relationship currency" for teens.

"These images are shared as a part of or instead of sexual activity, or as a way of starting or maintaining a relationship with a significant other," she said. "And they are also passed along to friends for their entertainment value, as a joke or for fun."

"The desire for risk-taking and sexual exploration during the teenage years combined with a constant connection via mobile devices creates a 'perfect storm' for sexting," said Lenhart.

"Teenagers have always grappled with issues around sex and relationships, but their coming-of-age mistakes and transgressions have never been so easily transmitted and archived for others to see," she added.

The survey found that teens with unlimited text messaging plans were more likely to receive "sexts" containing images of people they know. About 75 percent of mobile phone owning teens have unlimited plans.

Among this group, Pew said 18 percent reporting receiving "sexts" compared with eight percent of teens on limited data plans and three percent of teens who pay per message.

According to Pew, 58 percent of 12-year-olds own a mobile phone and 83 percent teens aged 17 do.

Pew noted that a number of US states are grappling with how to deal with "sexting" among minors and some legislatures have stepped in to consider laws that would downgrade charges from felonies to misdemeanors.

Pew conducted telephone interviews with 800 teens aged 12 to 17 and their parents between June 26 and September 24
本週二公佈的一項調查顯示，美國年齡在12歲至17歲之間有手機的青少年中，有15%的人曾收到過他們所認識的人的全裸或近乎全裸的照片。

據皮尤調查中心的“互聯網和美國生活項目”的數據顯示，在這一年齡段擁有手機的青少年中，有4%的人曾給他人發送過自己的帶有性暗示的照片。這一行爲被稱爲“發性短信（sexting）”。

這項皮尤調查發現，女孩和男孩給他人發送性短信的可能性均等，年齡較大的青少年發性短信的可能性更大。

在17歲有手機的青少年中，有8%的人曾通過短信發送過帶有性挑逗意味的圖片，30%的人曾收到過別人發送的全裸或近乎全裸的照片。

在12歲的青少年中，只有4%的人曾發送過自己的帶有性暗示意味的照片。

皮尤調查中心的高級研究專家、該報告的撰寫者阿曼達•倫哈特說，帶有性暗示意味的照片已成爲青少年之間的一種“關係媒介”。

她說：“這些圖片作爲性行爲或者性行爲中的一部分被分享，或者成爲建立或維持與某人關係的一種方式。因爲這些照片本身的‘娛樂價值’，它們還會被傳給朋友，供人娛樂。”

倫哈特說：“青少年時期有冒險和性探索的慾望，加上移動設備可以保持實時聯繫，這些條件創造了互發性短信的‘完美風暴’。”

她說：“青少年總在有關性和情感的問題上掙扎，但他們青少年時期所犯的錯誤和越軌行爲從未像現在這樣如此容易地被傳播並被保存下來供別人‘分享’。”

調查發現，那些訂製無限量短信套餐計劃的青少年更容易收到他們所認識的人發送的性短信。約75%擁有手機的青少年訂製了無限短信套餐計劃。

皮尤調查中心說，在這一人羣中，18%的人稱自己曾收到性短信，而在訂製限量短信套餐計劃的青少年中，這一比例僅有8%，在每條短信單獨付費的青少年中，只有3%。

根據皮尤調查中心的數據，12歲的青少年中有58%的人有手機，而在17歲的青少年中，這一比例爲83%。

皮尤調查中心指出，美國很多州都在試圖解決未成年人發送性短信的問題，一些立法機構也介入其中，表示將考慮修改法律，把對這一行爲的指控從重罪降爲輕罪。

皮尤中心於6月26日至9月24日對800名年齡在12歲到17歲之間的青少年以及他們的父母進行了電話調查

Vocabulary:

grapple with:設法解決

archive: to store (documents, data, etc.) in an archive or other repository 歸檔

unlimited text messaging plan:無限短信套餐計劃

step in: to enter into an activity or a situation 介入（The government may step in to settle the disagreement between the union and the employers. 政府可能會出面干預，解決工會和僱主之間的糾紛。）