Social media applications like WhatsApp have created a new avenue for curious young people to explore, express and develop their sexuality.
Sexting - exchanging texts, photos and videos of a sexual nature - has become so commonplace that many millennials consider it a normal and even healthy part of a relationship.
But some people are horrified by the idea of sexting. Are they right to panic? The short answer is no. Firstly, sexting is often a safer alternative to physical sex, without the risks of STIs and pregnancy.
And, importantly, my research has revealed that it is primarily a feminist space: when used correctly it offers both partners equal power to start, stop and direct the interaction.
Young women felt comfortable with sexting because it diminished their risk of being overpowered or pressured into non-consensual sex.
Millennials' own experiences
A recent study has started steering sexting research in a new direction that has millennials' experiences and opinions as its base.
This is important, as much of the literature currently circulating does not employ appropriate research methods or is biased towards finding the harm in this new moral panic that's "corrupting our youth".
I collected data from 579 students aged between 18 and 30 in an online survey at the University of Cape Town. I also conducted a number of focus groups. Here's what I found:
Millennials consider sexting fun and flirty - they use it to get positive feedback and boost their self-esteem; 55 per cent said they had friends who sext with nude or semi-nude pictures; 53 per cent have done so themselves and 59 per cent have received such content.
It is not necessarily a private activity - 57 per cent of male and 44 per cent of female student respondents have seen someone else's private naked or semi-naked picture(s). So much so, that 72 per cent expressed the fear of someone else seeing their picture as a serious concern or hindrance to sexting.
Importantly, millennials were highly aware of the risks posed by sexting. They also understood how it could be potentially harmful, but most said that the benefits outweighed the risks.
Participants said that the most common risk associated with sexting, apart from leaked photos, is receiving an unsolicited and unexpected sext, especially one of a graphic, sexual nature.
This is an especially common complaint among young women, and leaves the receiver feeling violated, but also with the expectation to respond.
Some were also concerned about the turn-taking repertoire of sexting, which means that when one receives a sext it creates the expectation of returning a similar contribution.
If you receive a photo of your partner's naked torso, for instance, a text or photo of your face is not considered an appropriate response. For inexperienced sexters, this could create negative pressure.
Sexting to build intimacy
Part of my research focused on why millennials sext. I found that it is most prevalent among couples, people in long-distance relationships and, interestingly, virgin teens.
Sexting is likely to happen before sex, as a way to get to know one's partner sexually and to build intimacy. This explains why high school pupils who still identify as virgins would sext: to them, it's a way to bridge the gap of distance between two interested, consenting partners who wish to be intimate, experiment or are just curious and wish to explore their sexuality.
All of this can happen in the safety and comfort of their own rooms with the power to stop the interaction at any time.
It is exactly this power which, from a cyberfeminist theoretical point of view, makes sexting so appealing - especially to young women. Sexting is a turn-taking, co-authoring process.
Both parties contribute equally and have equal stakes in the outcome. Both partners have the power to sway the story and to back out if they feel uncomfortable. Sexting has the potential to be liberating and empowering if used correctly.
It can bring two partners together through an intimacy otherwise denied by distance. But sexters - and particularly young millennials - need to be taught how to navigate these sometimes murky waters.
Breaking taboos
Schools and the popular media need to start addressing issues around consent and non-consensual sharing. They'll learn how to deal better with situations of unwanted pressure, and about their rights, how to protect themselves and when to ask for help.
Millennials also need to learn how technology can be used in an empowering way. This may be tougher in poorer countries or regions where economic access and exposure to technology is racialised, genderised and stratified by ethnicity.
An inexperienced user, or one who doesn't fit the typical Western, empowered millennial prototype - or match people's ideas of a savvy, connected "digital native" - might fall back on traditional constraints.
These constraints paint men as more dominating and women as submissive and unwilling to displease their lovers. Such programmes and learning can only happen once the taboo of sexting is lifted. This will require a dialogue between millennials, parents and educators, and a space for millennials' own views on the subject to be heard.
