Addiction Addictive Behaviors Internet When Sexting Turns Into an Addiction By Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD is a psychologist, professor, and Director of the Centre for Health Leadership and Research at Royal Roads University, Canada. Learn about our editorial process Elizabeth Hartney, BSc., MSc., MA, PhD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Carly Snyder, MD on July 13, 2020 facebook twitter linkedin Carly Snyder, MD is a reproductive and perinatal psychiatrist who combines traditional psychiatry with integrative medicine-based treatments. Learn about our Review Board Carly Snyder, MD on July 13, 2020 Print Hero Images / Getty Images More in Addiction Addictive Behaviors Internet Caffeine Shopping Sex Alcohol Use Drug Use Nicotine Use Coping and Recovery Sexting or the act of sending sexually explicit material through text messages, often via mobile phones can be an addiction that destroys lives in much the same way other addictions do. Sexting can include sexually explicit text messages, or they can include sexually explicit photographs, images, or videos. Sex Addiction and Sexting With mobile devices making sexting constantly available, sexting addiction has become more widespread. In fact, some estimates suggest that online porn addiction and sexting comprise the most common subtype of internet addiction. Sexting can be a symptom or manifestation of sexual addiction, which is an illness like other addictions and causes destructive consequences. For some, sexting is the primary behavior involved in sexual addiction. For others, an all-consuming interest in pornography, sexual encounters with sex workers, pathological infidelity, or cybersex relationships can be the main focus of the addiction. Sexual addiction is related to obsessive and compulsive thoughts and actions, and the inability to control behavior, even when the addiction is destroying family relationships, self-esteem, a career, and even finances. Similar to other addictions, sexual addiction is progressive in nature. This means that the person who suffers from sexual addiction will spend more and more time and energy engaging in the specific behaviors related to their addiction. In addition, sex addicts often seek more intense experiences as the addiction progresses in order to achieve the same "high" they once got from more benign activities. Who Is at Risk? Certain people are more likely than others to develop a problem with sexting. These include people who suffer from low self-esteem, a distorted body image, untreated sexual dysfunction, or another type of sexual addiction. Sexting is typically carried out deliberately, with people sending sexts about themselves. But sometimes, sext messages that contain sexually explicit material about someone else can be sent, in some cases when the subject of the sexts has not given consent. Sexts can also be sent to someone who does not wish to receive sexually explicit material. Because sexting is a recent phenomenon, it has not yet been adequately researched, and proper limits to sexting have not yet been worked out. However, many people have found themselves in trouble over sexually explicit sexts. One of the worst-case scenarios is when teenagers sext sexually explicit pictures of themselves and are subsequently accused of distribution of child pornography. The Sexualization of Young Girls and Mental Health Problems Treatment Treating a sexting addiction often requires support from professionals, and can be particularly complicated because refraining from the use of a mobile phone is not practical in today's environment. With that temptation always in hand, sext addicts must vigilant about relapsing. Because sexting and pornography addiction are becoming more and more common, many new inpatient and outpatient centers focusing on treating these disorders have become available in all parts of the world. In addition, a self-help support group program such as Sex Addicts Anonymous can be helpful in achieving and maintaining recovery. The 5 Best Online Sex Therapy Programs Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Dir AL, Koo C, Cyders MA. Sexting: A new and emerging behavior of risk. In: Assailly JP, ed., Psychology of emotions, motivations and actions. Psychology of risk-taking. New York: Nova Science Publishers; 2013. de Alarcón R, de la Iglesia JI, Casado NM, Montejo AL. Online Porn Addiction: What We Know and What We Don't-A Systematic Review. J Clin Med. 2019;8(1):91. doi:10.3390/jcm8010091 Duffy A, Dawson DL, das Nair R. Pornography Addiction in Adults: A Systematic Review of Definitions and Reported Impact. J Sex Med. 2016;13(5):760–777. doi:10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.03.002 Fong TW. Understanding and managing compulsive sexual behaviors. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 2006;3(11):51–58.