Delete, Save, Laugh or Share? How millennials react to sexty pictures

Jake GammonHead of Omnibus, US
May 12, 2015, 9:00 PM GMT+0

Unless otherwise stated, all of the following statistics use a base of adult Americans who were comfortable talking to YouGov about sex. This was 84% of the adult population surveyed. The figures were weighted to be representative of all US adults (aged 18+).

It will be no surprise that technophile, thrill-seeking Millennials make up the majority of sextors, with half of Millennials (50%) admitting to sexting. This compares to a meager 7% of those aged 55 plus who may, of course, be sending racy postcards instead.

Over one in five (22%) of Americans surveyed has sent sexually explicit pictures. 9% admitted to sending the picture to people they either didn’t know or were not romantically involved with. Men seem more likely than women to court strangers by sending those really, really personal pictures (12% vs. 6%).

40% of the much more active Milliennial group has sent explicit photos. 16% of Millennials surveyed admitting to sending explicit pictures to those they weren’t romantically attached to.

Video sharing isn’t quite as popular. Only 13% of Americans surveyed and 27% of Millennials have indulged in sexually explicit interactions via their webcam or on a video call.

What happens when Millennials share a photo?

19% of Millennials surveyed say they have received a sexually explicit photo, which they immediately deleted. A similar number (22%) say they saved a picture to their phon. 13% decided to share it by either showing the picture to their friends on their phone, forwarding the text to friends or posting the image to social media.

19% of Millennials have sent a picture back to the sender.

And 9% have laughed at one.

For Millennials, who have ever sent a sexually explicit picture, half (50%) are concerned that it might be shared without their consent, but the thrill seekers take the risk. 17% of Millennials say they shared sexually explicit pictures because they thought it would be exciting, 19% shared just because they were asked to.

Are LG Owners missing out?

Samsung and Apple smartphones owners are the sextier owners. 31% of Samsung smartphone owners and 35% iPhone owners have sexted compared to only 22% of LG owners.

For further information about Omnibus results, and for details about methodology and Omnibus services, please email omnibus.us@yougov.com.

Find the full results here.

Image courtesy of Press Association