Sexting is 'increasingly the norm' among teenagers

Sexting "increasingly feels like the norm" among teenagers, an expert
has warned.
The term is used to describe sending and or receiving sexually
explicit photographs and text messages, with the Government's Child
Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) receiving a report a
day on average from parents, schools and pupils.
Kate Burls, a former secondary school teacher and the education team
coordinator at Ceop, an arm of the National Crime Agency, told The
Guardianthe practise "increasingly feels like a norm".
She added that no two incidents are the same, with some involving coercion.
Her comments follow the launch of a NCA campaign in the autumn aimed
at raising awareness of sexting, and enabling parents to educate their
children about the dangers.
As part of the drive, the NCA worked alongside the University of
Edinburgh, the University of Linkoping in Sweden and the German
charity Innocence in Danger to uncover why teenagers are drawn to
sexting.
In-depth interviewswith 51 young people in the UK and Sweden show that
many felt pressured by their partner into send the messages.
Ms Burls also warned that many young people appear unaware that they
are committing an offence when they sext, as it is illegal to
distribute or possess images of person under the age of 18.
The dangers of teenagers sending sexually explicit messages were
highlighted by a case involving a 14-year-old boy earlier this year.
The teenager was added to a police database after he took an explicit
image of himself and sent it to a female pupil of the same age on
Snapchat.
The girl reportedly shared the photograph with others. A police
officer with links to the school in northern England alerted the
authorities after seeing it.
The act was recorded as a crime of making and distributing an indecent
image, but the boy was not arrested or charged.
An incident of these is reported daily in the United State!