ABSTRACT.
Sexting is an increasingly frequent practice in today's society, but there are still few studies about the perceptions of Brazilians about sexual messages. The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of some Brazilians about sexting and provide an overview of the characteristics of the phenomenon in the Brazilian reality. An online survey was conducted with discursive questions with 41 participants about the dynamics of the practice and content analysis was used for data treatment. The results revealed that some social views are permeated by stereotypes, as observed in research from other countries. Sexting is still often confused with different forms of violence, despite being naturalized around the country and already being part of the daily sexual experience of many people. It became evident that sex education in the digital context is necessary for people to understand their rights and recognize the differences between healthy sexting practice and violence possibly linked to the messages.
Keywords:
Sexting; social perception; brazilian reality