Issues@Hand

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June 2014 – Aberrant and unhealthy behavior among teens has been associated with excessive use of technology according to a study from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. 

The study found that nearly 20% of teens surveyed from a cross section of urban Midwestern high school students send more than 120 text messages during each school day. These “hyper-texting” students were at least 40% more likely to be binge drinkers, use drugs and smoke cigarettes. In addition, they were 90% more likely to have had four or more sexual partners and 55% more likely to have been in a physical fight. 

Furthermore, 11.5% of these students reported hyper-networking – more than three hours of a school day on social networking sites – and were 94% more likely to have been in a physical fight, 84% more likely to have used drugs, 79% more likely to have used alcohol, 69% more likely to have had sex, 60% more likely to have had four or more sexual partners and 62% more likely to have smoked cigarettes.  

case.edu, 3/20/14