In the current debate around sexting, this book gives a nuanced account of motives, contexts and possible risks of intimate digital communication.

Authors discuss how social media shape new dating opportunities through apps and dating sites, how sexting fits within individual¿s relational and sexual development. They examine the relationships between sexting, health and sexual risk behaviours and focusing on adolescents, further highlight which role parents can play in relational and sexual education.

Chapters cover topics such as abusive sexting behaviours in the context of dating violence and slut shaming, media discourses concerning sexting and the legal framework in several countries that shape the context of sexting. This edited collection will be of great interest to academics and students of communication studies, psychology, health sciences and sociology, as well as policy makers and the general public interested in current debates on how social media are used for intimate communication.

1. Sharing and caring?  The role of social media and privacy in sexting behaviour2. Information disclosure, trust and health risks in online dating3. A nuanced account: why do individuals engage in sexting?4. Sexting from a health perspective: sexting, health and risky sexual behaviour5. Parents¿ role in adolescents¿ sexting behaviour6. Slut-shaming 2.07. A sexting `panic¿? What we learn from media coverage of sexting incidents8. Sexting and the law.

Michel Walrave is a Professor at the Department of Communication Studies and Chairman of the Research Group MIOS, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Joris Van Ouytsel is a researcher at the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Koen Ponnet is an Assistant Professor at the Ghent University. He also teaches at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. Jeff R. Temple is a Professor and Director of Behavioral Health and Research in the Department of Ob/Gyn at UTMB Health, USA.