UM: Text Messages

The Detroit Free Press reports on a new national poll from the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, which shows that 27% of kids ages 9-12 and 75% of teens ages 13-17 have their own cell phones – and 87% of them are texting. The article, which highlights concerns over exchanging sexually explicit texts – known as sexting – quotes Matthew Davis, a UM Medical School associate professor and director of the Mott poll: “There is a mismatch between teens’ ability to use technology and their developmental stage, where they are best able to appreciate and understand the material they’re receiving and sending. You need to be worried about this the moment you give a phone to a child.” [Source]