When it Comes to Texting, Kids Can be Cruel

AT&T has released findings of The AT&T Mobile Safety study of 1,000 parents and 500 children. The findings deal with issues that include texting while driving, bullying, sending and receiving inappropriate messages and photos.

AT&T recently commissioned a new survey to create awareness around mobile safety issues. Some of the findings include:

• 48 percent of children ages 12-14 have ridden in a vehicle with someone who was texting while driving; 64 percent among those ages 15-17
• 1 in 4 teens ages 15-17 have received mean or bullying text messages
• More than half of teens ages 15-17 know someone who has received a sexual message or picture over their phone
• 58 percent of parents say that their mobile phone provider offers tools or resources for parents to address issues like overages, safety, security and monitoring. One in seven is not sure whether they have access to these services.  

While the study results bring up a variety of concerns, there are ways parents can manage how a mobile phone is used. These include blocking certain content that may be accessed, times of day phones can be used and ways to block texts and calls from bullies. Additionally, applications such AT&T Family Map can help parents locate their children and send alerts at predetermined times with the child’s location, such as when they should have arrived at home or school.

For more information, visit www.att.com/familysafety. 

—AT&T