Our teens spend an exorbitant amount of their day on their cell phones.  So, just how much time do teens spend texting?

‘More than half of teen texters report texting on a daily basis.  In fact, 1 in 3 teens report sending more than 100 messages per day (that’s about 3,000 texts a month).  About 15% of teen texters report to sending more than 200 texts a day or 6,000 texts a month!  Some of these teens admitted to sleeping with their phone under their pillow so it will vibrate at night when they get a text.  So much for being off the phone by 9:00 on a school night; that phone is literally attached to them 24/7. ‘ (Psychology Today, March 2011)

With teens spending so much time on their cells it is important for parents/guardians to be aware what sites and/or apps they are using.  It is also paramount to know what the acronyms mean they are using when texting.  These do change frequently, but some are standard, or the changes are minimal. Click here for a current list of acronyms teens may be using when texting: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2015/01/02/texting-acronyms-parents/21098099/

Here is a timely article (11/3/15) from CNN about tweens, teens and texting: https://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/health/teens-tweens-media-screen-use-report/index.html

Click here for good ways to assist your teen in social media use: https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2013/04/25/5-ways-to-help-your-kids-use-social-media-responsibly/