Sexting: Those who send sexually explicit messages are more likely to be narcissistic

Do you like sexting? If the answer is yes, then bad news is on the way for you. In fact, according to a new study, those who send sexually explicit messages, photos or videos with their phone to a partner tend to have a hostile personalities and antisocial behavior.

A team of international researchers examined the common character traits of people who like to text hot, and found that those who were fans of sexting and did it continuously were more likely to have two of the traits that make up the so-called sexting. Dark Triad.

The term Dark Triad, which in Italian means Dark Triad, is a construct, coined by researchers Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002, which refers to a specific trio of negative personality traits, generally regarded as predictors of psychopathology and antisocial behavior. We are talking about narcissism, machiavellism and psychopathy.

We all know quite well what narcissism means, we usually associate it with those who have a disproportionate ego and a lack of empathy. Machiavellianism, on the other hand, typically refers to people who manipulate and exploit others. And according to the new study, these two negative personality traits are typical of those who do sexting.

The research, conducted by psychologists from the University of Rome La Sapienza and researchers from the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom, and published by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, interviewed over 6,000 participants, aged between 13 and 30, in 11 countries (including Italy).

According to the latest statistics about, one in four teenagers sexting, and in any case the chances of sending and receiving sexually explicit messages increased with increasing age. A conclusion that «gives credence to the idea that juvenile sexting can be an emerging and potentially normal component of sexual behavior and development».

Researchers from La Sapienza University also confirm this: «Sexting is an increasingly common phenomenon among adolescents and young adults. But very few studies have examined the role of personality maladaptive factors in sexting. The present research has provided empirical evidence that different behaviors during sexting are predicted in two of the personality traits of the Dark Triad. ‘

Sexting itself is legal if it occurs between consenting adults (over the age of 18). But as with any sexual behavior, a dangerous line may be crossed when receiving unsolicited, non-consensual sexts.

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In this research, lact of sexting has been divided into three main categories: the experimental sexting, that is the typical one between two consenting parties; the risky sexting, i.e. sexting under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or with partners who are strangers; and finally the aggravated sexting, which is coercive sexting or sharing messages without your consent.

After a thorough analysis of the respondents’ responses, they said: “In general, a rough distinction can be made regarding the positive aspects (i.e. experimental sexting) and negative aspects of sexting (i.e. aggravated or risky sexting)” .

By analyzing these last two categories, the researchers showed that people who liked to send very explicit sexually messages and nude photos in a risky or aggravated way got higher scores in measuring personality traits such as narcissism and Machiavellianism. Which meant they were more likely to be cunning manipulators, to be narcissistic, and to have big egos.

The study also found some gender differences, showing that men were “more likely to be involved in both forms of risky sexting and aggravated sexting.” The former was typical of older respondents, while aggravated sexting was more prevalent in younger age groups, which is of great concern considering that aggravated sexting is associated with non-consensual behavior and partner pressure.