Texting teens 'likelier to indulge in sex & drugs'

London, Nov 10: A new research has found that teenagers who send more than 120 text messages a day are more likely to indulge in sex, drugs and alcohol.

Excessive texting among teens, dubbed 'hyper-texting' and defined as sending more than 120 messages per school day, is linked to a higher occurrence of smoking, drinking, fighting and sexual relationships.

Researchers from the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio found that compared to non-heavy texters, hyper-texting teens were 40 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes and 94 percent more likely to have been in a fight, the research showed.

While researchers say they aren't suggesting that 'hyper-texting' leads to sex, drinking or drugs, the study concludes that a significant number of teens are very susceptible to peer pressure and also have permissive or absent parents, said Dr Scott Frank, the study's lead author.

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 don't text that much.

ANI