Text Messages: U.S. Teens Send Over 3,000 Text Messages Per Month

You’ve given in. Your teenager now has a cell phone. You probably got it for emergency purposes, right?

Hey, your child’s a “good kid.” Nothing to worry about…

Okay, so maybe you’ve noticed that he or she has been glued to a cell phone lately, but c’mon, what kid isn’t?!  Besides, they only send text messages to their friends once in a blue moon… right?

Actually, not quite.

According to a new report released by Nielsen, American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 send approximately 3,339 text messages per month. Girls send an unbelievable amount of text messages at 4,050 per month while boys send only 2,539 per month.

This study illustrates two important facts: 1) With numbers this high, teens are obviously becoming extremely dependent on their devices… dare we say addicted to the texting habit? and 2) Because voice-calling is not as important to teens anymore (and certainly not utilized as frequently as text messaging), parents now have more reasons to consider monitoring their child’s cell phone activity. (We call this "Mobile Monitoring" and it can be done from anywhere).

Let’s be honest. Unless you physically have your child’s cell phone in your hands and start to futz around- poking and prying- you won’t hear or see much of anything. With all the stories about sexting, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, textual harassment, and more in the news lately, it’s more important than ever for parents to be “in the know” about who their child is communicating with via cell phone and what type of content is being sent and received.

Tell us your thoughts. Do you think teens send too many text messages? Do you worry about your child's texting habits? What do you think is the best solution?

Interested in more? Follow us (@SafetyWeb) on Twitter and like us on Facebook!