Smartphones with mobile Internet lead to risky sex behavior of teens, a new study found.
A team of researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) examined the consequences of smartphone ownership among teenagers and found the trend making the young generation to seek sex on the net.
The findings are based on a 2011 survey of 1,839 high school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Researchers found a significant number of the participants using their smartphones to find out sex partners online and engage in risky sexual activities like unprotected sex, compared to children without any access to internet on their cell phones. Teenagers with smartphones were found more likely to be sexually active (1.5 times) and look for sex on internet (2 times), engage in sexual activities with an internet met partner (more than 2 times) and more likely to have an unprotected sex.
Concerned about the findings, the researchers urged parents and school officials to spread awareness among the young generation about the risks associated with this trend.
"We-parents, health educators, physicians-must recognize that cell phones are yet another new way for adolescents to meet sex partners," Hailey Winetrobe, a researcher at USC, said in a news release. "Parents and school health professionals should talk to their teens about being safe in meeting people online and in using condoms to prevent sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies."
Findings of the study have been presented at the American Public Health Association's 140th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, recently.
The findings come at time when smartphone use is growing faster among teenagers in the country. According to nielsenwire, about 58 percent of American teens own a smartphone currently compared to 36 percent last year.
Previous studies have found high school students in the country regularly engaging in sexting- sharing sexually explicit texts or images through mobile phones and engaging in unprotected sex.
