The average teenager sends almost 10,000 text messages per year, and is so worried about missing an important call that they leave their mobile phone switcher on overnight, according to the latest survey into the digital habits of young people.
The research, which was carried out by Bebo, a social Networking site popular with teenagers, reveals that more than two-thirds of Young people use their mobile phones and digital cameras to keep a photographic record of their lives. Almost 75 per cent of those surveyed said they used social Networking websites to share photos and keep in touch with friends.
Around half of those questioned said they had as many as 250 « friends » with whom they kept in regular contact via the internet. Most of the teenagers who responded to the Survey, which was posted globally on the Bebo website, said they spent the majority of their spare time on the web, with almost one third saying they watched more than 50 online videos per week, usually on sites such as YouTube and Bebo, and other social Networking websites such as MySpace.
But watching traditional, broadcast television is still a popular pursuit for many young people, with 31 per cent admitting to watching more than five hours of television per day, and 32 per cent staling that they watched TV for between three and five hours per day.
« Communicating with one another is one another is one of the most popular hobbies among teenagers today, » said Sarah Gavin, global director of communications for Bebo, which has more than 11 million users in the UK. « If technology enables them to do this more easily, then it makes the experience all the more appellent to them.