Analysis of sexting as a risk factor in the dissemination of child pornography

INTRODUCTION. Child pornography is a crime that new communication technologies have been transforming and modifying its modus operandi. If we add to this problem the fact that parents provide their children with a mobile device at an early age, the ideal context for the creation of this virtual social phenomenon is generated. OBJECTIVE. To identify sexting as a risk factor in the dissemination of child pornography, represented by the viewing and sending of images that can be used as material for the perpetrators of this crime. METHOD. The research is quantitative, retrospective cross-sectional type, since the research data are obtained with the help of surveys. RESULTS. Of the total number of people surveyed, 30% viewed pornography involuntarily and 47% voluntarily, which meant that 77% probably viewed an intimate photo of a third person without their consent. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The present work was compared with data related to sexting, in which INHOPE showed that 65% of respondents had sent intimate photos, while Quadrantin indicated that 37% of respondents knew someone who had also sent intimate photos, which shows that sending intimate photos represents a danger for minors and society in general.