Mobile texting has become the primary source of communication for 88 percent of teen cell phone users in the United States, a leap up from the 51 percent of teen texters in 2006, according to a 2009 Pew Internet & American Life Project study on teens and mobile phones.
One-third of teens send more than 100 texts a day, or 3,000 a month.
Teens use cell phone texting most often to contact or keep in touch with friends. The study shows that while only 38 percent texted daily in February 2008, 54 percent of American teens texted daily in September 2009.Texting ranked significantly higher than talking on a landline or cell phone, instant messaging, meeting in person, e-mailing or using a social networking site.
Sixty-four percent of all teens with mobile devices have texted during class, whether or not their respective schools have a ban on cell phones.
Only 4 percent of teens have sent a “sext,” or a sexually suggestive text involving an image, while 15 percent say they have received “sexts.”
Teens who are avid texters were found to be more likely to sleep with their cell phones than non-texters. Among the 84 percent of teens who reported sleeping with their device next to them, 87 percent were texters.
To see the full report, visit http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones/Summary-of-findings.aspx?r=1.
