Sexting in Argentina: the Role of the Fear of Missing Out andEmotional Intelligence

Abstract

With the technological advances and the widespread use of the internet, social networks and cell phones, new behaviors have emerged that are considered current sexual practices. One of these new behaviors is sexting, defined as the act of receiving, sending or forwarding sexually explicit text messages, images or photographs via the internet or cell phone. This new practice has been associated more often with younger generations than with the adult population. The main objective of this study is to analyze the frequency of sexting behaviors among adults in argentine society, also assessing the differences according to gender and age.  Another objective of the study was to examine the relationships between sexting and the levels of fear of missing out (FoMO) and emotional intelligence of the participants. The study was conducted on a sample of 1020 adults aged 18 to 65 years, with a mean age of 42.29 years; with 59.01% (n = 602) women and
40.99% (n = 418) men. This study reveals statistically significant differences in sexting practices according to the gender and age of the participants. in addition, it shows that sexting correlates with high levels of FoMO and emotional intelligence.