London, Dec 1 (ANI): Over one-third of Brit teenagers use mobiles to send sexually explicit snaps of themselves and more than a quarter “sext” regularly, says a new research.

The survey by the University of Plymouth, in Devon, and the South West Grid for Learning found that adolescents send a boyfriend or girlfriend lewd pictures of themselves.

And this is despite the fact that half of the participants in the poll knew instances where the photos ended up being shared with others.

Experts warned humiliated victims are often taunted or bullied - and the snaps can end up in the hands of paedophiles.

“This is a significantly larger problem than we had first imagined,” the Sun quoted Dr Andy Phippen as saying.

“It shows a population who are unconcerned about intimacy or privacy yet are ill-equipped to understand the implications of their actions,” he added.

The poll found that 40 per cent of teenagers saw nothing wrong with sending topless pics and 15 per cent thought naked shots harmless.

Overall, 39 per cent of teenagers had shared intimate pictures or videos.

“Such practices lead to a desensitisation of young people to issues of intimacy. What is particularly worrying is the somewhat blasé attitude to the subject,” said Phippen.

Poll organiser David Wright called for schools to warn pupils.

“We suggest sexting awareness be adopted into wider education schemes,” he added. (ANI)