美青少年发性短信成风 引政府担忧

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
本周二公布的一项调查显示，美国年龄在12岁至17岁之间有手机的青少年中，有15%的人曾收到过他们所认识的人的全裸或近乎全裸的照片。

据皮尤调查中心的“互联网和美国生活项目”的数据显示，在这一年龄段拥有手机的青少年中，有4%的人曾给他人发送过自己的带有性暗示的照片。这一行为被称为“发性短信（sexting）”。

这项皮尤调查发现，女孩和男孩给他人发送性短信的可能性均等，年龄较大的青少年发性短信的可能性更大。

在17岁有手机的青少年中，有8%的人曾通过短信发送过带有性挑逗意味的图片，30%的人曾收到过别人发送的全裸或近乎全裸的照片。

在12岁的青少年中，只有4%的人曾发送过自己的带有性暗示意味的照片。

皮尤调查中心的高级研究专家、该报告的撰写者阿曼达．伦哈特说，带有性暗示意味的照片已成为青少年之间的一种“关系媒介”。

她说：“这些图片作为性行为或者性行为中的一部分被分享，或者成为建立或维持与某人关系的一种方式。因为这些照片本身的‘娱乐价值’，它们还会被传给朋友，供人娱乐。”

伦哈特说：“青少年时期有冒险和性探索的欲望，加上移动设备可以保持实时联系，这些条件创造了互发性短信的‘完美风暴’。”

她说：“青少年总在有关性和情感的问题上挣扎，但他们青少年时期所犯的错误和越轨行为从未像现在这样如此容易地被传播并被保存下来供别人‘分享’。”

调查发现，那些订制无限量短信套餐计划的青少年更容易收到他们所认识的人发送的性短信。约75%拥有手机的青少年订制了无限短信套餐计划。

皮尤调查中心说，在这一人群中，18%的人称自己曾收到性短信，而在订制限量短信套餐计划的青少年中，这一比例仅有8%，在每条短信单独付费的青少年中，只有3%。

根据皮尤调查中心的数据，12岁的青少年中有58%的人有手机，而在17岁的青少年中，这一比例为83%。

皮尤调查中心指出，美国很多州都在试图解决未成年人发送性短信的问题，一些立法机构也介入其中，表示将考虑修改法律，把对这一行为的指控从重罪降为轻罪。

皮尤中心于6月26日至9月24日对800名年龄在12岁到17岁之间的青少年以及他们的父母进行了电话调查

Vocabulary:

grapple with:设法解决

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

unlimited text messaging plan:无限短信套餐计划

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. 政府可能会出面干预，解决工会和雇主之间的纠纷。）