New York, Jan 26 (ANI): Courting lovers by sending flowers is passe, for teens nowadays have found a rather ‘sexy’ way to lure the object of their affection-’sexting’- sending nude photos of oneself to a boyfriend, girlfriend, crush or casual acquaintance from cellular phones with a raunchy text message attached.

According to a national study published last month, 20 percent of 13- to 19-year-olds admitted to have messaged explicit images of themselves over the phone and e-mail,

On the other hand, 48 percent said that they had received sexually suggestive e-mails or text messages.

Over half of the girls “sexted” owing to pressure from boyfriends, revealed the survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

“Trust me, a lot of couples do it. It’s just like another form of sex,” the New York Post quoted a 15-year-old high-school sophomore from New Jersey, as saying.

The girl confessed to having sent 40 naked pictures of herself to her ex-boyfriend in a failed attempt to win him back.

Even social networking websites have not been left untouched by the trend-Facebook and MySpace boast of groups with names like “I’ve Sent Naked Pictures of Myself Over the Phone,” “People Who Take Naked Pictures of Themselves with Their Phones,” and “Practicing Safe Sexting.”

In fact, teens who indulge in sexting are least bothered about maligning their reputations.

Recently six Pennsylvania students landed in jail after nude pictures that had circulated around their school were confiscated from a male student’s phone. (ANI)