<p>Sexting has often been framed as a risky, deviant, or Westernized practice of sexual expression. This study repositions it as a culturally situated form of mediated intimacy within the moral and technological landscape of the Philippines. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with thirty young adults, the research illuminates how Filipino youth engage in sexting not as moral transgression but as affective negotiation—a discreet, emotionally intelligent way to sustain love and desire within a conservative moral order. The study identifies four interrelated functions of sexting: relational assurance, affirmed fidelity, emotional regulation, and relational labor. Together, these processes constitute the CARE Model of Digitally Mediated Intimacy, which theorizes sexting as a cyclical communicative circuit of care that sustains connection under constraint. The model illustrates how young Filipinos utilize digital media to reconcile propriety and passion, translating moral restraint into innovative forms of emotional creativity and relational agency. By situating sexting within the moral economy of Filipino intimacy, the study expands current understandings of digital sexuality and challenges the dominance of Western-centric frameworks that privilege sexual autonomy. It argues that in the Global South, sexting is less an act of rebellion than a practice of care—a way of being close, loyal, and emotionally present in a hyperconnected yet morally bounded world.</p>