Teens & Mobile Phones:Exploring safety issues as

mobile phones become the communication hub for

American teens

Amanda Lenhart/Pew InternetFOSI

November 2010Washington, DC

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Sexting“sending or receiving a sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude photo or video of yourself/someone you know”

Teens 12-17• 4% have sent sexts• 15% have received sexts• Oldest teens most likely,

youngest least likely to have sent or received sexts– 4% of 12 year olds have

sent or received– 8% of 17 year olds have

sent, 30% have received.

• No gender diff in sending or receiving among teens.

Adults 18+• 6% have sent sexts

– 13% of 18-29 have sent

– 5% of 30-49 have sent– African Americans

more likely to have sent

• 15% have received– 31% of 18-29 have

received– 17% of 30-49 have

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Sexting

Teens 12-17• 17% teens who pay for

the full cost of their phone send sexts vs. 3% of others.

• Sending texts, unlimited texting increase likelihood of receipt.

Adults 18+• All increase likelihood

of receipt of sexts:– Male – Single, separated

or divorced– African American

or Hispanic– Income LT $30K

• African Americans more likely to send sexts than whites.

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Teens & Mobile Phones

Geo-location? Twitter?

• 4% of American adults use geo-location or geo-social applications

• 8% of Americans 18-29 use geo-apps• What about teens? • 8% of teens use twitter, but…• What might use or increased use mean

for cyberbullying, harassment, dating violence? But also parental monitoring?

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Amanda LenhartPew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Projecthttp://pewinternet.org@amanda_lenhart

photo by arcticpenguin