Sexually explicit material is not widespread in children such as some mobile phone survey has suggested, researchers have found.
But ' sexting '-send or receive a risqué photos or videos via cell phones – still may refer to the legal problems of minors.
"Now, in most areas, it's a criminal offense," said Kimberly j. Mitchell, a psychologist at the University of New Hampshire in Durham and co-authors on two recent reports in the journal Pediatrics. "Child pornography is by definition a sexual image."
In one study, Mitchell and his colleagues estimate that US police handle cases that nearly 3,500 sexual images produced by teens from the 2008-2009.
Driven by high-profile scandals, sexting has become a hot topic in the media. Earlier this year, representative Anthony Weiner resigned from Congress after admitting to sexting where he sends his raunchy image for young women.