I recently received a list entitled, “50 Sexting Acronyms Every Adult Should Know.”  There was no citation.  No author.  Just a list.  It was distributed presumably as a warning that sexting is an epidemic among kids, so adults better learn what these kids are saying.

Let me tell you, the list is fabulous.

The acronyms are crude, complicated, obvious, inventive, and, I began to expect, not commonly used.

I decided to test a few of the terms.

First, I asked my new research assistant, a recent college graduate, about some of the more innocuous acronyms.  She was clueless.

Next, I sent a text to a college freshman that I have mentored for a number of years.  Here is that exchange:

Obviously, the data from my little exercise are anecdotal at best.  However, my suspicions are confirmed by a new study in, you guessed it, Pediatrics, which concludes that sexting is atypical behavior.

For example, the researchers found that only 1% of teens have sent sexually explicit images of themselves from their mobile telephones, which is a stark contrast to the 20% or more reported by some special interest groups.

I was starting to feel smug.  My instincts about those “50 Sexting Acronyms Every Adult Should Know” seemed correct.  Then I realized, the list is meant to help adults with their own sexting.  You see, it turns out that sexting is more prevalent among adults, 30 to 49 years-old, than it is among teens.  You can read about it here when you are not texting K4Y, 143 and GNOC.