Teenage girls texting nude photos?

The teenage girls in the grainy pictures wear skimpy outfits, underwear – or nothing at all.

Instead of love notes, racy picture and video messages are a new way to flirt, police and adolescent experts say.

The messages often spread quickly and sometimes find their way to public websites.

Dr. Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Research Center Center for Women and Families in Washington, D.C., said the over sexualized nature of advertising is partially to blame.

“The message is everywhere. ‘Sex is fun. Having sex with people you barely know is fun and funny,’” she said.

“There is so much pressure for girls to conform to an image,” Zuckerman said. “Girls are feeling if they want to be attractive or popular, they have to be sexy.”

Candice Kelsey, a California teacher and author of “Generation MySpace: Helping Your Teen Survive Online Adolescence,” said the bawdy text messaging happens a lot. “It crosses every racial socio-economic group. Christian kids are doing it. Jewish kids are doing it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• The Desert Sun •