Teenagers who send more than 120 text messages a day are more likely to have sex, drink, use drugs, and get into fights, a new study has found. The research from the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, found there was a strong link between “hyper-texting” and “risky behavior”. Lead researcher Dr Scott Frank said one of the causes of excessive messaging could be poor parenting: “If parents are monitoring their kids' texting and social networking, they're probably monitoring other activities as well,” he said. Dr Frank’s research was based on questionnaires taken by 4,200 students at 20 high schools in the U.S. state of Ohio. Frank's study is the first to look at the link between texting and social problems.
The report reveals some interesting statistics. It found that one in five students was a hyper-texter and about one in nine was a hyper-networker (someone who spends three or more hours a day on social networking websites). Both these activities seemed more common among girls, minorities, children whose parents are not so well educated, and kids from single-parent homes. The findings that should worry parents are the things hyper-texting kids do. The study found hyper-texters have more sex than “normal” texters, have been in fights, binge drink, and take drugs. One teenager, Jason McCoy, 19, said the statistics made sense: “Kids who text a lot are arranging dates and parties with their friends. Dates and parties mean drinking and meeting people. Of course kids will do things,” he said.
http://breakingnewsenglish.com/1011/101110-texting.html
No comments:
Post a Comment