US cellphone owners aged 18-24 now send "an average of 109.5 messages on a normal day," reports the Pew Internet and American Life Project in a just-released study, and "that works out to more than 3,200 texts per month." Which means that young adults are getting very close to the level of teens' texting – well, teens' texting about a year ago, at 3,339 texts/month, according to Nielsen figures … [Read more...] about Adults’ texting catching up with teens’
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New CA law against fake profiles
California has updated its impersonation law to include online impersonation, or pretending to be someone else in email and social network sites. "Using a fake online profile or email address to harm others can lead to a fine of up to $1,000 and one year in jail," the San Francisco Examiner reports. The Examiner cites the view of one law enforcement officer that, on the surface, the law looks … [Read more...] about New CA law against fake profiles
Parents’ own cyberbullying struggles
The parents of kids targeted by digital bullying and harassment often face some serious challenges of their own, as they work toward ending a child's ordeal. That's a key take-away from New York Times reporter Jan Hoffman's thoughtful front-page story on cyberbullying yesterday. Often their children, even when enduring a lot of emotional pain, don't want them to get involved (fearing a parent only … [Read more...] about Parents’ own cyberbullying struggles
US teens’ mobile use: Nielsen update
It's no big surprise, but official now, I guess: Texting is now teens' No. 1 reason for using cellphones, but using apps is their fastest-growing activity, ReadWriteMobile reports, citing Nielsen research. This year 43% of US 13-to-17-year-olds say texting is their top reason for mobile adoption. "Safety, the number one reason back in 2008, has now fallen to second place with only 35% citing this … [Read more...] about US teens’ mobile use: Nielsen update
Texting beats driving for teens
Texting doesn't just beat out social networking for teens by more than 2 to 1, as Pew/Internet reported last spring, it also beats driving. Parent and Forbes writer Jim Motavalli has both anecdotal and numerical evidence, and I'm seeing the exact same thing at my house and in the research. Motavalli's just-turned-16-year-old is entirely ho-hum about getting her driver's license, and that was the … [Read more...] about Texting beats driving for teens