Teens are heavy text, app and data users, according to Nielsen. Average teens are sending or receiving 3,339 texts a month. That's more than six per hour that they're awake - an 8 percent jump from last year.
No one texts more than teens (age 13-17), especially female teens, who send and receive an average of 4,050 texts per month. Male teens also outpace other male age groups, sending and receiving an average of 2,539 texts. Young adults (age 18-24) come in a distant second, exchanging 1,630 texts per month (a comparatively meager three texts per hour).
Texting is currently at the core of mobile teen behavior. Forty percent claim it is their primary reason for getting a cell phone, which explains why QWERTY input is the first thing they consider for choosing their devices. Safety, which was the main reason for getting a phone in 2008, is now less important - it is secondary among girls and less so among boys. Keeping in touch with friends is still one of the top three factors, too.
Last year teens texted instead of calling because it was fun. Now 78 percent of teens recognize the functionality and convenience of SMS, considering it easier (22%) and faster (20%) than voice calls (though still fun).
Ninety-four percent of teen subscribers self-identify as advanced data users, turning to their cellphones for messaging, Internet, multimedia, gaming, and other activities, such as downloads.
Teens are not only using more data, but they are also downloading a wider range of applications. Software downloads among teen subscribers who use apps enjoyed a solid 12 percent increase in activity versus last year, from 26 to 38 percent. This includes popular apps, such as Facebook, Pandora and YouTube. Usage of the mobile web has also surpassed activity on pre-installed games, ringtone downloads and instant messaging, too. Other mobile activities, such as mail and text alerts, have also seen significant growth.
The Nielsen Company analyzed mobile usage data among teens in the United States for the second quarter of 2010 (April 2010 - June 2010). Nielsen used recent data from monthly cell phone bills of more than 60,000 mobile subscribers as well as survey data from over 3,000 teens.