Texting Increases Among British Teens

Texting habit on the rise among British teenagers, reveals survey.

Research, by consumer watchdog Ofcom, found teenagers sent an average of 193 every week; more than double the number they sent in 2011.

According to the survey, girls in the UK aged 12-15 years were found to be the most prolific texters, sending 32 messages a day, or 221 a week, compared with 23 a day for boys, The Telegraph reports.

Two thirds of teenagers owned their own smartphone, enabling them to access the internet; a significant increase from 41 per cent in 2011, the survey said.

Meanwhile, two fifths of children aged 12 to 15 claimed their mobile phone was the device they would miss most if forced to live without modern technology, with another one in five preferring their television, according to Ofcom.

The study, which aimed to discover how technology was influencing children's lives, also showed younger children were spending an increasing amount of time online, the paper said.

A third of pre-school children aged three and four years old were found to be using the internet at home, either on PCs, laptops or a netbook, while nearly half of schoolchildren aged five to 15 years who had access to the internet had their own social networking profile, despite rules on website such as Facebook banning the under 13s, the paper added.

Source: ANI