Wes: In February 2008, Double Take ran our first story about sexually explicit digital photography. Today, that parent’s letter seems kind of quaint. Here’s a brief excerpt:

“My husband and I were horrified to learn that pictures of our daughter’s naked body were recently sent to half the kids in her school by a former boyfriend. When we confronted her she was less embarrassed than we were.”

That incongruence between parent and child concern over explicit photography has only widened as smart phones make taking and distributing still or video image of anything a matter of a couple quick thumb clicks.

At first we offered dire warnings that this constituted child pornography put underage picture-sexting teens at great risk of adjudication. But the volume of material produced and shared exceeded any capacity for legal intervention, even if anyone could figure which minor deserved prosecution. So in the end, few teens were adjudicated. That’s a relief, given how many young people would have been irreversibly damaged by these acts of impulse and bad judgment.

So where does that leave us? Kyra and I have been studying the boundless selfie culture as a significant social trend and we’ll discuss it in future articles and media. Essentially a subset of that culture, sexual selfies are not universal, but are as common as Kyra’s research suggests, and from my chair even more so.

Just last week a Twitter feed appeared in Lawrence with local boys soliciting nude pictures from (supposedly over-18) local girls, quickly posting several shots. Both guys and girls responded in angry protest. I think it’s more exhilarating to see teens talking seriously about these issues than disheartening to know they need to.

That debate continues because many teens and young adults see no reason not to take and share explicit material. Some see it as a sort of sexual calling card. Others claim it as a form of social protest, echoing Jennifer Lawrence in Vanity Fair, “It’s my body; it’s my choice.” Most just commit to digital image what they share with intimate partners and see portrayed in online explicit content. Regardless, many teens and even more young adults take and share these pictures nowadays.

Kyra: Before camera phones, one impulsive late night misjudgment would be immortalized in memory only.

That is no longer the case.

According to a recent Drexel University study, 54 percent of college students said they had sent or received “sexually explicit text messages or images” before they turned 18. The researchers believed the participants were more truthful than in previous studies — many of which estimated teen sexting at around 20 percent — because respondents remained anonymous and reported as adults on past behavior. Still, as with most self-report statistics, one can assume the actual percentage is even higher.

Not all teens sext pictures, but, as they increasingly rely on electronic communication, most take their relationships there as well. Teens’ desire for acceptance among peers is well known. Sexting is another manifestation of this longing, except it’s not just “Maybe if I make out or have sex with this boy, I’ll be accepted” — it’s “Maybe if I send a naked photo of myself to this guy, he’ll like me.”

While guys also send naked selfies, girls face the classic double standard. Those who send a compromising photo receive a colorful variety of misogynistic insults. Those who refuse are “prude.”

Whether using Snapchat, Twitter Direct Messaging or texting, the explicit image doesn’t just die on the recipient’s cellphone. If a boy or girlfriend decides to show that picture off, it can easily be saved and sent to friends, who can, in turn, pass it on. Or, if the relationship ends poorly, the image may end up online, where it will never go away and could cause all manner of harm.

That being said, the response from adults shouldn’t be, to paraphrase the health teacher in the movie “Mean Girls”: “Don’t send naked pics because you will get pregnant and die.” Most teens don’t get caught doing this, so they discredit all the dire warnings. Adults tried the “Mean Girls” health teacher approach with sex and weed, and look how well that turned out.

However, kids do need to understand the potential harm brought on by a single click of a button.

Wes Crenshaw, Ph.D., ABPP, is author of “I Always Want to Be Where I’m Not: Successful Living with ADD & ADHD.” Learn about his writing and practice at dr-wes.com. Kyra Haas is a Free State High School senior who blogs at justfreakinghaasome.wordpress.com. Send your confidential 200-word question to ask@dr-wes.com. Double Take opinions and advice are not a substitute for psychological services.