Report: Text messaging use among teenagers reaching new heights
Published April 28, 2010
As recently as February 2008, one-third of American teenagers said they exchanged text messages with their friends on a daily basis, according to the Pew Internet and American Life project. However, that number has skyrocketed since then, reaching 54 percent by September 2009.
The Pew report said that "among cell-owning teens, using the phone for calling is a critically important function, especially when it comes to connecting with their parents. But teens make and receive far fewer phone calls than text messages on their cell phones."
The study said that girls were much more likely than boys to be frequent texters, with females surveyed averaging 80 text messages per day compared to 30 for their male counterparts. Girls were also more likely to text socially for no other reason, the study said.
Though the results are still highly relevant, the mobile market has developed even further since the date of the study - the recent release of new high-end smartphones like the Nexus One could provide competition to the iPhone, making that market more competitive.
While it's fairly well-known that mobile communications is among the hottest topics in the world of digital marketing, keeping up-to-date on information like teen texting trends and segmentation could help keep mobile marketers a step ahead of the competition.