Teens and Mobile Phones

Chapter Five: Negative aspects of mobile phones

Adverse “side effects” of teen cell phone use.

Of course, with new opportunities come new problems, and the cell phone puts new twists on old ones. This section examines some of adverse ramifications of cell phone use by teens, including distracted driving, so-called "sexting," mobile harassment, and unwanted text messages. The chart below shows that among these concerns, distracted driving and receiving unwanted or spam text messages stand out as most prominent among teens who use cell phones.

Negative aspects of cell phones

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Copyright 2012 Pew Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center. The Center is supported by The Pew Charitable Trust.