The cellphone, that be-all and end-all of teen life, is ever more indispensable to the younger generation, embraced not just for calling friends and sending a barrage of text messages but also increasingly for playing games, snapping photos, sharing videos, listening to music and going online.
The connection between teens and the thumb-tapping keypad is so strong that more than four of five adolescents say they have slept with their cellphone in or near their bed, according to a report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Some keep it under the pillow, to awaken for late-night texts. Others use the built-in alarm to wake up. "This device has become a communication and often entertainment hub in their lives," says Pew researcher Amanda Lenhart, co-author of the report, which showed more than one in four teens now access the internet by cellphone and 54 per cent record video. Six in 10 play music.
As cellphones have become more sophisticated, Lenhart explains how teens have been quick to latch onto the new technology. "It has become a tool to help them make sense and process and record their lives."
Kyle Smith, a senior at Sherwood High School in Sandy Spring, Maryland., who has had a phone since he was 12, considers it is a crucial part of daily functioning. At 18, he calls, texts - literally hundreds of times a day, he says - sends e-mail, visits Craigslist and online car forums, takes photos and videos, even checks the time of day.
Cellphones have arguably also shifted more of teen life off the radar of parents. "The cellphone is a much more private, and I think that's one thing that teens love about it," says Lenhart. Smith jokes that when his mother threatened to read his messages, she gave up because she could not get past the security code.
Monitoring
The Pew study, still, found that parents monitor cellphone use, with 64 per cent saying they have looked at their child's address book, call log, text messages and pictures. How often was unclear.
But 62 per cent of parents say they have taken away a cellphone as punishment.
The report noted a correlation between parental limits on text messaging and of teens regretting a text message.
More study would have to be done to establish cause and effect, Lenhart says, adding: "I think if parents are extremely concerned, then this is one thing they could potentially take away."
Indeed, the most vivid change surrounding cellphone use was the rapid increase in text messaging, researchers say. In an 18-month period, the number of teens who text every day rose from 38 per cent to 54 per cent. In real numbers: The median daily total that teens send and receive was 50 or 1,500 a month. Girls typically send and receive 80 texts a day, and boys come in at 30. The average adult racks up 10 text messages in a day.
The effect of so much texting is still being researched, but Scott Campbell, a professor at the University of Michigan and study co-author, says research shows that cellphone use does not take away from quantity of face-to-face time, even if some might argue it affects quality of time.
The Pew study was based on telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 800 teens, aged 12 to 17, and their parents. Focus groups were also conducted.
