Sexting is when someone shares an intimate photo of themselves with another person via text, BBM, IM or social networking sites like Facebook, Flickr or Twitter etc.
It is very easy for young people to share pictures and videos online. With cameras on every mobile phone, a picture can be posted and shared in an instant so it’s easy to make mistakes and for children and young people to send something that they regret later.
Children and young people might be tempted or persuaded to share nude and underwear pictures – they might share these with their boyfriend or girlfriend or with others they trust; however, doing this can easily led to problems such as bullying or blackmail.
Being involved in sending explicit pictures, where the person in the picture is under the age of 18, can be a criminal offence. This could lead to a young person getting into trouble with the police, affect their chances of getting a job and even limit the countries that they can travel to.
See the NSPCC website for advice to help you understand the risks and support your child if they've been sending, sharing or receiving nude images.
If someone has forced your child to send an inappropriate image of themselves you should report them to the Police by calling 101.
To make an online report follow the instructions on the CEOP website.