CON TEXT: Oh, look, a text message. I'll just see who it's from.Er, I wouldn't open that inbox if I were you. You never know what dangers you might encounter in there.

Oh, come off it. The only danger here is the wife texting me to find out why I'm not back from the pub yet.Granted, most text messages are of the innocuous, I'm-on-the-train variety, or just innocent little snapshots of your friend's new baby. But there's a new type of text message doing the rounds that could turn your mobile phone into a timebomb. And if you dare to look at one of these texts, you might end up getting a serious ticking-off – or worse, getting your collar felt.

Omigod. That sounds serious.Sexting is the practise of taking naughty pictures of yourself with your mobile phone, then sending it to someone else via the mobile text messaging service. It has caught on like hula-hoops among teenagers around the world, most of whom seem unaware of the possible consequences of sending nude or semi-nude pictures of yourself out into the ether.

Why on earth would teenagers send out rude photos of themselves to other teenagers?D'uh, because it's fun, of course. And because the technology is there. Many teenagers use sexting as a tool for flirting in their school or neighbourhood. In olden times, if you fancied someone in your class, you'd pass them a billet doux under the desk. Now, you surreptitiously send them a photo of yourself in your undies.

Well, it sounds like harmless enough hi-jinks, a bit of teenage over-exuberance. As long as it doesn't get out of hand.We're talking teenagers here. Of course it gets out of hand. As soon as your dream guy gets the naughty pic you sent him, he forwards it to all his friends, who post it on Facebook and every other social networking site. Within hours your image has gone viral, and there's no way it can ever be erased.

Well, then, we must teach these kids to just say no to texting. Some self-appointed moral guardians want to teach these teens a lesson they'll never forget. In Pennsylvania, three schoolgirls – two of them aged 13 – sent pictures of themselves wearing just bra and panties to three boys in their class. To them it was all just a giggle, but the local district attorney wasn't laughing. He brought child pornography charges against all six teens. The girls' parents – and the American Civil Liberties Union – were outraged by the out-of-all-proportion reaction, and sued the DA to prevent him filing charges.

Er, shouldn't he be out catching the real criminals?The tale is repeated in many other parts of the world, where teenagers are finding themselves up before the beak for allegedly sending lewd pictures via their mobile phones. In many cases, the teenagers are threatened with jail or being put on the sex offenders' register.

Well, perhaps we should all be more vigilant and check kids' text messages. I wouldn't do that if I were you. One assistant principal in Virginia who tried to tackle sexting in his school ended up being arrested on child porn charges. The charges were eventually dismissed, but not before the man's life and career were destroyed.

It sounds like a modern-day witch-hunt. I'm powering off my phone right now.Legislators are moving to downgrade sexting to a misdemeanour, to prevent further miscarriages of justice. In January, a survey of 1,200 teenagers found that one-fifth had sent explicit messages, so it looks as though sexting is here to stay. We don't interfere when teenagers canoodle in the bike sheds – perhaps we should just leave them to their own hand-held devices.

Try at home: "Life sucks. Two weeks back at school and not one girl in my class has sent me a naked pic."

Try at school: "I tried to tell them it was a Britney Spears screensaver, but they wouldn't listen."