Teens are sending 60 texts a day, study says
(CBS News) Teens are sending more text messages than ever before, according to a new report called "Teens, Smartphones & Texting" conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
According to Pew Internet, teens are sending an average of 60 text messages per day. That number is up from 50 text messages in a 2009 survey. Older girls are the most prolific communicators, sending an average of 100 text messages. Compare that number with boys, who sent about 50 messages per day.
Text messaging is the top means of communication among teen, with 63 percent of teens sending messages every day. Only 39 percent of teens reported making phone calls daily and 35 percent of teens say they communicate face-to-face. Other means of communicating included: social networks (29 percent), instant messaging (22 percent), talking on landlines (19 percent) and emailing (6 percent).
More frequent texting didn't necessarily mean fewer phone calls. The study revealed that teens who were heavy texters also made it on the list of heaviest talkers.
Smartphones are also gaining popularity among teens. About 23 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have a smartphone. The number jumps to 31 percent among 14- to 17-year-olds. For comparison sake, about 77 percent of teens have mobile phones.
The increase in texting didn't carry over into location-based services like Foursquare or Facebook Places. Only 6 percent of teens overall admitted to checking in to share their physical location with friends.
The study surveyed 799 U.S. teens ranging from 12 to 17 years old and their parents. In addition, Pew Internet also surveyed 57 teens, broken into seven focus groups. The margin of error for the study is set at 4.8 percentage points.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a part of the Pew Research Center.
