The increasing prevalence of sexual extortion ("sextortion") has drawn significant media and law enforcement attention, yet research on its impact on adolescents and university students remains limited. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has further complicated this issue, enabling perpetrators to manipulate and exploit victims through AI-generated content. This study replicates and expands upon the work of Patchin and Hinduja (2018) by investigating sextortion among U.S. middle school, high school, and university students, focusing on AI's role in escalating digital threats. This research examines key factors influencing sextortion experiences, including school type (public vs. private) and university settings, to assess the impact of digital safety policies and support systems. Additionally, adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to sextortion because of their developmental stage. It evaluates educational efforts, analyzing the effectiveness of school- and university-based prevention programs. The study also explores frequency and context, identifying how often sextortion occurs, its recency, and whether incidents involve romantic relationships, friendships, or strangers. Additionally, it assesses AI's role, focusing on deepfakes and AI-driven tools in sextortion cases. Finally, it measures awareness and prevention, evaluating students' ability to recognize, report, and seek help. Using a quantitative survey of a nationally representative sample, this study employs ANOVA and chi-square tests to analyze sextortion patterns, educational interventions, and AI-related risks. Findings will provide insights into digital safety gaps, inform institutional policies, and enhance intervention strategies to protect students from sextortion threats better.
Sonali Jha is a PhD candidate at Ohio University’s School of Media Arts and Studies. Her research explores media interventions in combating human trafficking, focusing on framing, agnotology, and community-based action research. She has published on trafficking and migration, analyzing media’s role in shaping awareness, policy, and social change.