Study suggests hyper-texting teens are more likely to engage in at-risk behavior

By Staff Writer

New research has shown that teens who text 120 times a day or more are more likely to have had sex or to have used alcohol and drugs than kids who do not send as many messages. The study's authors are not suggesting that "hyper-texting" leads to sex, drinking or drugs, but they say that it is startling to see an apparent link between excessive messaging and that kind of risky behavior, the Associated Press reports.

The study was done at 20 public high schools in the Cleveland area last year, and is based on surveys of more than 4,200 students. It found that about one in five students were hyper-texters and about one in nine are hyper-networkers, which is defined by spending three or more hours a day on Facebook and other social networking websites. About one in 25 fall into both categories.

The study found those who text at least 120 times a day are nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex than their peers who do not text that much. Hyper-texters were also more likely to be in a physical fight, binge drink, use illegal drugs or take medication without a prescription.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, early experimenters and smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to experience various behavioral problems by grade 12.