‘Sexting going mainstream with celebs, politicians’

New York, June 20 : An expert has indicated that sexting, which was considered a long prurient teen phenomenon, has now gone mainstream.

Rihanna does it so does Brett Favre, Anthony Weiner and millions of other adult Americans.

"Sexting is definitely integrated into our society," the New York Daily News quoted Susan Lipkins, a Long Island-based psychologist who has studied the subject, as saying.

"It''s not just kids. It''s a lot of adults as well,” she added.

Despite its costs, sexting is rampant.

A Pew Research Center poll found that roughly 33 pc of people aged 18 to 29 say they have been texted a nude or seminude photo of someone they know.

Among 30- to 49-year-olds, 17 pc reported having received such photos and 5 pc admitted to sending them.

"It often begins innocently - a person meets someone through a friend of a friend or on Facebook," said Lipkins.

"They start emailing, and that turns into texting that turns into sexting,” she added.