We Know You're Sexting. A Lot.

You know what sexting is. You’ve heard about the celebrities, teachers, and politicians who’ve gotten busted sending pictures of their junk to partners and strangers alike. And according to a new study, a good chunk of the population has caught the sexting bug. Data from a Pew Research Center survey of over 2,500 American adults shows that sending sexually explicit messages and nude photos is on the rise, but it’s not just couples who are swapping sexy texts. Single people are just as likely to send nudie pics as those who are married or coupled, but they’re more likely to say that they have received a sexy text. Score one for singles!

One in five people say that they have been sent a sext — higher than last year, when only 15 perccent of people ‘fessed up. At least 3 percent of those recipients are real jerks — they violated their partner or date's trust and forwarded the message on to someone else. Gross.

It is curious, though, that only 9 perfect of people admit to sending sexts. If 20 percent of all cell phone owners report receiving these messages, those 9 percent of people are sending a lot of dirty texts. I’m not an expert in sociology, but something tells me that unsolicited dick pics account for a significant portion of all sexts.

The fact that so many of us are comfortable sending messages to our partners or people we barely know shows that we all have a ridiculous level of trust with our most intimate thoughts and photos. That 3 percent of people who share their incoming sexts with others can cause life-changing problems for people who thought they were just innocently sending photos of their boobs to a guy (or girl) they liked.

The Pew Research study didn’t just focus on sexting, though. Technology is impacting our relationship in a number of ways — some good, some bad. Texting has made 25% of couples’ relationships stronger because they can stay connected while a partner is working or traveling, but just as many people felt that their partner was distracted by their phone while they were together.

For better or worse, social media will still continue to be a fixture in the relationships of most Americans for the foreseeable future. What you choose to do with it — call out your cheating ex on Facebook or send a naked pic to that stranger in the bar last night — is up to you.

Image: Getty Images