Teenagers averaging thousands of text messages a month

The New York Times ran a report yesterday about how teenagers in America are sending text messages at a growing rate. And carriers such as AT&T and Verizon probably aren't capitalizing on this opportunity with their unlimited texting plans. According to the Nielsen Company, the number of text messages sent per teenager reached an astounding 2,272 text messages per month in Q4 of 2008. It could well be higher now.

Crystallizing the statistics was a survey of two local high schools by a pediatrician in Greenbrae, California. Dr. Martin Joffe discovered that many high schoolers were sending hundreds of text messages every day as a matter of routine. He tells the Times, "That's one every few minutes. Then you hear that these kids are responding to texts late at night. That's going to cause sleep issues in an age group that's already plagued with sleep issues."

And a lot of texting is certainly taking place in the classrooms, despite rules in most high schools prohibiting the use of mobile phones in class. Students simply pretend to take something from their backpack or text by putting it under their coats or desks.

At the moment though, it is still too early for the effects of excessive texting to be seen. Sherry Turkle, a psychologist who is director of the Initiative on Technology and Self at MIT notes that the culture of texting could cause a shift in how adolescents develop. Then again, didn't the advent of the mobile phone--never mind texting--already change the situation irrevocably?

For more information about the story:
- check out the article at The New York Times

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