Reuters is reporting one third of U.S. teenagers with mobile phones will send over 100 texts each day. This means texting has become the most popular form of communication for young people as discovered in a study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
The study has found that since 2008 texting among American teens is used more than mobile phone calls, instant messaging, social networking and even talking face-to-face. Three quarters of teens aged between 12 and 17 now own mobile phones with girls on average sending or receiving 80 texts per day in contrast with boys who send or receive 30 per day.
Unlimited texting plans are believed to have helped boost the number of texts sent by teens. The study also pointed out that texting can be done without the knowledge of teachers and parents and that unlike computers the ability to text can be done almost anywhere.
Pew researcher Amanda Lenhart said texting had sky-rocketed in the last 18 months. "We've kind of hit a tipping point where now teens expect other teens to respond to text messaging ... There is definitely an element of text messaging that fits so seamlessly into their lives."
The study's author Scott Campbell said the study also revealed texting habits. Whilst boys tended to not use punctuation, girls found them essential. "If a girl puts a period at the end of a text message (to another girl) then it comes across as she's mad." Campbell also said this explained girls' frequent use of smiley emoticons.
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