By Samantha Murphy For Mashable
Teens are texting more than ever — and their thumb-crunching habits are showing no signs of slowing, according to a new study.A new report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project revealed that the amount of texts sent and receive each day among teenagers has jumped in the past few years, especially among boys, older teens and African-Americans.
The study looked at the behavior of nearly 800 teens ages 12 to 17 during a three-part survey between April and July 2011 and a series of focus groups involving 57 people ages 12 to 19.
Teens on average are sending and receiving 60 texts each day, up from 50 in 2009. The increase is being led by older teens ages 14-17, who went from a median of 60 texts a day to a whopping 100 two years later.
Girls are still the most active texters, sending and receiving a median of 100 texts a day compared to boys sending 50. However, boys are texting more than they were just two years ago — in 2009, they sent about 30 each day. African-American teens are also texting more, up to 80 each day from 60 in 2009.
Of the entire group, 75% of teens said they actively text, and one in four say they own a smartphone. Not surprisingly, voice calls are down.
Texting is by far the most popular way for teens to communicate. While 63% of teens say they text every day, only 39% said they make calls on their phones on a daily basis or send messages through social networking sites (29%). In addition, 35% said they socialize face to face outside of school. The big loser in teen communication is email, with only 6% of teens using it as a means to communicate with friends.
However, the study found that those who text more frequently are more likely to talk on the phone with their friends.
Do you think texting will ever replace phone calls? As teens get older, do you think they will eventually embrace email? Let us know in the comments.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, izusek
BONUS: The Funniest Texting Fails by Parents
Our final two slides show the text conversation that inspired When Parents Text. Sophia Fraioli tellsMashable how it all began:
"Lauren and I had both just moved back to our hometowns, in with our parents after graduating college.
"One night over dinner, Lauren showed me a particular funny text, where a misunderstanding about train times had led her mom to believe she wanted seven tacos for dinner.
"I read it, started hysterically laughing and said, 'When parents text, it's hilarious.' Lauren immediately followed with, 'That should be a website.' The next day we started a Tumblr blog."
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