کئی نوجوان لکھ کر پعام بھیجنے کو بولنے پر ترجیح دیتے ہیں۔ ہر تین میں سے ایک روزانہ 100 سے زائد پیعامات بھیجتا ہے۔۔۔۔ ٹیکسٹنگ نوجوانوں میں ایک مقبول عام ذریعہ ابلاع ہے خوہ وہ موبائل، سوشل نیٹ ورکنگ سائیٹس یا فیس ٹو فیس گفتگو ہو۔۔۔۔

Daily Mail UK - It will come as no surprise to the parents of monosyllabic teenagers. Many youngsters prefer texting to talking - and one in three like it so much they send more than 100 text messages a day. A study has found that texting has become the most popular means of communication for teenagers, eclipsing phone calls, social networking sites and even face-to-face conversations.

The phenomenon can partly be explained by the availability of mobile phone contracts offering unlimited text messages for a small fee.

But bashful teenagers may also like the ability to hold a 'conversation' without actually speaking to someone.

Researcher Amanda Lenhart said: 'Texting is now the central hub of communication in the lives of teens today. 

'We've kind of hit a tipping point where now teens expect other teens to respond to text messaging and to be available.'

The study, by the Pew Research Centre in Washington DC, found that the typical teenage girl with a mobile phone sends 80 messages a day, while a boy will send 30.

It also showed that most young people text their friends daily, but just a third will make an effort to talk to them face-to-face.

However, when it comes to getting hold of their parents, teenagers are more likely to call than send a text message.

Text messaging has become so much a part of American teenagers' lives that 87 percent of texters sleep with, or next to, their phone.

The research also offered offer insight into the subtleties of teen communication and culture, revealing for example that, while boys don't typically use punctuation, for girls such nuances are critical.

The rise of text messaging, has been blamed for the decline in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, with some experts claiming that the use of abbreviated words and sentences has left youngsters unable to spell the simplest of words.

The broadcaster John Humphrys has bemoaned the 'pillaging of punctuation' and the 'savaging of sentences'.

But not everyone agrees, with a study of British primary school children concluding that the march of the text message is benefiting literacy rather than harming it.

A study of primary school children found those who used the most 'textisms' were also the best readers.

The Coventry University researchers think texting improves our ability to recognise the sounds that make up words - a key part of reading.

Sending text messages also exposes children to written text, something which is also know to be beneficial to reading.