Mr Chong Ee Jay remembered a case last year where a Secondary 4 girl sent nude and sexy photos of herself to her boyfriend. At first she was reluctant but her boyfriend said it was only for his own pleasure.
But the boyfriend showed the photos to his friends, and the girl was called a "slut".
Mr Chong is the manager of Touch Cyber Wellness, a voluntary welfare group that teaches Internet safety, He shared that the sexting trend which started in the United States and Britain in 2010 is starting to take off here in Singapore.
A recent survey of 2,700 secondary school students found that the number of "sexting" teens has doubled from a year ago. 4.2 per cent of upper secondary students and 1.9 per cent of lower secondary students had engaged in sextexting. Up from 2.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively last year.
According to the survey conducted from January to May, more teens claim they know what is sexting.
About 71 per cent of upper secondary students and 53 per cent of lower secondary students said they understood the term, up from 62 per cent and 41 per cent respectively last year.
Mr Chong is concerned about the large increase of students doing sexting although the number is still small.
Mr Chong added: "At that age, teens are experimenting, and they are young and impressionable, especially in relationships.
"It could happen in the heat of the moment, but we remind students that their personal information can be used against them once it's out of their control."
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