More than 1/4 of teenagers send their naked photos via SMS or email, US experts report. It found that 10th and 11th graders who did so were more likely to have already had sex, and unsafe sex. Girls who send nude photos are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior involving intimate contact with multiple partners and the use of drugs and alcohol before the act. The trend known as sexting is becoming more widespread. Is the sending of sexually explicit text, pictures or video by mobile phone or e-mail. Parents should talk to their children about the topic to protect them from dangerous sexual and other behaviors, says Jeff Temple of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. 948 teenagers participated in the study. 28% of them say they have sent a nude photo of themselves via text or email, and 57% have been asked to do so. Most teenagers, especially girls, said they felt “a little” worried about being asked to send a nude photo, the pollsters said. NEWS_MORE_BOX The majority of teenagers who practice sexting have already started having sex – 77% of girls and 82% of boys, compared to 42% of girls and 45% of boys who are not affected by the “new fashion’ in communications. 56% of girls in the study who exchanged sexually explicit messages had multiple intimate partners in the past year. Most of them used drugs and alcohol before sex. The results are reported in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.