What is Sexting (Sex Texting)?

"Sexting" is a portmanteau (a five-dollar word that means "two words put together"), from "sex" and "texting". If you're thinking that this sounds a lot like "cybersex", you're on the right channel. From the days of IRC (Internet Relay Chat, which predates the World Wide Web), Internet users have exchanged erotically-charged messages to each other. This was a popular activity even in the days when you had to pay $1000 for an 8-bit desktop computer and had nothing but green text on a black screen to show for it.

From IRC and protocols that ran on top of it such as ICQ and AIM, instant messaging systems kept sexting somewhat in the foreground. But the mobile platform gave sexting its Renaissance. When you can carry a palm-sized device that can instantly zap a message to any point in the world, sexting benefits from a spontaneous attitude and convenience. Adding a built-in camera, which most mobiles have now, just adds another layer to the attraction.

While it hasn't caught on as widely as was first believed, it has taken root with a sizable part of the population. It's easy, convenient, completely safe in terms of physical interaction, and - important in this age of global business - perfect for keeping in touch with your significant other from miles away. Estimates on how much of the population sexts run to 25% of those with a mobile. The rise in online dating has corresponded to an increase in sexting as well, being just one more step in the online courtship process. Surveys of married couples have shown that about 15% of them met online, with a sharp skew towards higher percentages among younger couples.

Even though people may not realize there's a word for it, they've been sexting a lot more than they think. What husband and wife hasn't at least exchanged a text-based smooch over the mobile, or what wife hasn't zapped a photo of themselves in lingerie to their hubby still at work to show him what he has waiting for him when he returns to his abode? It's really just a new way of looking at an old play.