It’s always been common for kids to pass notes back and forth between rows in the classroom. And, hey, if the teacher found a teenage boy’s sketch of a bikini-clad woman with a sleezy caption, the kid would give up his whole month’s allowance just so she didn’t make him an example to the whole class by reading it aloud.

Nowadays, there’s a new, more advanced method of passing notes in class and with it comes a far stiffer penalty that kids can’t wiggle out of as easily.

Sexting, a neologism that combines the words “sex” and “text” is the practice of sending nude or semi-nude pictures of one’s self or others via cell phone.

Texting statistics show that children are younger than ever for when they are first exposed to mobile phones and text messaging. A 2005 ChildWise study said that one-in-four children under the age of eight had a mobile phone. This number skyrockets to 89% by the time they reach the age of 11 or 12.

In a landmark case that has now shone a spotlight on this issue, George Skumanick, the district attorney in the small Pennsylvania town of Tunkhannock, took what some considered to be a progressive approach after a handful of pictures turned up on cell phones at a local high school.

He told parents they could either enlist their kids in an education program or have the teens face felony charges of child pornography.

Some legal experts say that Skumanick has expanded the definition of sexting to such an extent that he could be setting a dangerous precedent.

On his show that aired April 16 : Scary Trends: Is Your Child at Risk segment, Dr. Phil addressed the topic of teens and sexting by composing a panel of a mom and her 13-year-old daughter who attempted suicide after she sent a provocative photo of herself to a boy, who then forwarded it to other boys; a father and his 13-year-old boy who forwarded a nude photo of a female classmate to another boy; and attorney Lisa Bloom, a correspondent for BettyConfidential.com, who discussed the legal debate surrounding sexting.

“This is very scary,” said Bloom. “In 12 states, teenagers have been charged or arrested for felony child porn for taking either a picture of themselves nude or semi-nude, or engaging in some kind of sexual act, and it’s just on their camera, or they send it to another kid. This is, in my view, a complete subversion of the child porn laws. Yes, it’s a technical violation, because they are under age, but child porn laws were designed to protect kids from adult exploitation. This is really a whole new world.”

Last month, the ACLU and a group of parents sued Skumanick in federal court in Scranton, Pa., alleging he violated the freedom-of-expression rights of three teenage girls.

Others say Skumanick is giving the teens an opportunity to avoid charges, which he could have filed immediately. Some see the alternative of offering classes as appealing.

“This whole thing makes me think that youth these days are finding all kinds of sick things to do with their time,” said Darren Harvey, 25, Miami, Florida. “I mean most of these kids are doing it in school instead of paying attention in class.”

Phillip Alpert, a 19-year-old from Brevard County, Florida, turned to sexting a year ago when his former girlfriend broke up with him. In an act of vengeance, he took nude photos she had taken of herself and sent to him while they were dating and sent them to 70 people. Alpert was arrested, charged, convicted, and given probation for distributing child pornography. He is now a registered sex offender, a moniker he will carry with him until he is at least 43 years of age. Weekly, he has to meet with a group of other sex offenders, largely rapists and child molesters.

Many might deem this penalty as harsh, but Alpert is a part of a string of youth who are at the helm of a new arm to the pornography industry starring themselves.

In the age of MySpace, Facebook and YouTube, there is an extreme loss of inhibitions with such open access to self-promotion and immediate publishing. It’s as easy as uploading and posting. Therein lies the source of the sexting epidemic. Kids are unabashed.

Why Kids Sext

“Communication has simply been replaced by texting,” said Andrew Pocock, administrator of Life Impact, a non-profit organization for youth and family services in Miami, Florida. “These kids ask you on a date via text, they break up with you via text, I bet some of them when they get older may even ask you to marry them on text.”

Since texting is now the rage, there is instant access to sharing your goings-on with friends. Factors that may lead to sexting are a need for attention, the desire to be recognized, peer-pressure, flirtation, new teen dating rituals, proof of commitment in a relationship, raging hormones, following the example of noted teen celebrities, adolescent risk-taking, and immaturity.

And, since kids have the freedom to “broadcast themselves,” the average porn director isn't sleezy the White man like Ron Jeremy anymore. They are your fresh-faced cheerleaders on the pom pom squad and unassuming tuba players in the high school band.