I don't send any, I'm vintage in many ways ;0)

My daughter are very into texting but me not so much. I can call faster.

0 for me too. My phone is very basic and I don't even think I have text messaging in my plan. I do see texting being more convenient in certain situations.
Debora, your son is only slightly higher than average, supposedly:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8633435.stm
(happened to see it in the headlines today)

Texting is so quick and easy. I send an average of five per day--not too many.

No texting here. I call or email. Yay, Khris! I love your attitude and totally agree! Our kids didn't have cell phones or texting yet, but we had the same conversation about game systems when they were at home. At a young age they need to learn social and communication skills, not be up in their rooms playing video games or texting instead of writing real sentences and having real conversations.

I send very, very few. My parents have generously kept me on their cell phone plan since I was in college which does not have an unlimited texting plan so I must pay per text. I would text slightly more if I had an unlimited plan but appreciate not having to get my own cell phone plan. I agree that texting is convenient in limited circumstances but widespread use hinders interpersonal communication skills and well as reinforcement of grammar, punctuation, etc.

Debora, I hope you have an unlimited texting plan on your son's phone! From what I've heard and seen with my teenaged cousins texting is the IT thing to do to communicate...much like AOL instant messaging was when I was a teen.

I think i text way more than i think, when I get my phone bill most of my phone allowance goes on texting x

shiny - I learned to text because, like you, I found it was the best way to get the kids to respond to my calls. They will for the most part always text right back.

Khris - that's a good policy. DS didn't get his until high school.

Marianne - thanks for the link to the article. I calculated his texts from the month before (no girlfriend that month), and he averaged about 35/day. Still a lot, but better than this past month!

Joy - I sure do miss those days!

Melliss - we did go to unlimited texting when I started texting because my texts were starting to add up. Looks like I'm going to have to lay down the law with DS now.

I send fairly few, maybe one or two a day and not every day.

As someone who absolutely HATES the phone, I text a fair bit! Emails and texting are definitely my preferred mode of communication (unless I'm with someone of course LOL).

I mainly text my 2 brothers, 1 of their girlfriends and a couple of close friends. We are all busy people and I like that a text or email means they can get back to me when they get a chance. If I have to tell someone something I'll often email them and then text them telling them to check their emails LOL

But, my phone plan has a cap and as long as I don't spend more than $350 odd my bills are capped at $49 and I've never gone over my cap in the past year so I don't see any reason to reduce my texting!

A friend and I were only discussing the other day that certain friends of ours (we are all in our 30's too I might add), seems to live her life publicly on facebook - we only found out she and her boyfriend broke up when she posted it there, so I think its becoming more common amongst not just the teenagers of the world...

It scares me though because my 5 year old has said she wants a mobile phone for her birthday, she's definitely not getting one though!!! I think my policy will be like Khris' - if you can pay, you can play.

DD's school has a policy that if you have a mobile phone it must be handed in to the office when you arrive at school and you get it back at the end of the day - I like that idea because I've heard some shocking stories from other schools... and this is only PRIMARY school for goodness sakes!

oooops long rambling post again LOL

I once received the same text from the same person over and over again....over a hundred times! I told the person who sent it but she couldn't get it to stop. This had happened to her before. I freaked out because I don't have unlimited texting; thankfully my cell phone provider seemed to think it was their fault and took the charges off my bill.

I can't see the keyboard to text unless I hunt down reading glasses So I use my computer instead to send a rare text to one of my kids - I bet those don't count.

Today's kids are scary with their constant need to be available.

I confiscate cell phones used during class in middle school thru 10th grade. At our 11-12th grade high school, I make them put it away while I stand there, and a 2nd offense means losing the phone, or taking themselves and their phone to the office (where they probably get a proverbial slap-on-the-wrist). But I have seen kids texting one-handed with the phone STILL IN THEIR POCKET!! So I can't 'see' it, I guess

What a timely topic! The results of a study on teen texting was just released today.

Here is the link to the full study:
http://pewinternet.org/Reports.....s.aspx?r=1

Here is a recap of findings:
Based on a survey and focus groups conducted with teenagers between 12 and 17, Pew found that text messaging is by far the most common way that kids communicate with each other, more than chatting on the phone, e-mailing, using social-networking sites, or talking face to face. More than 75 percent of teens now own cell phones, notes Pew, up from just 45 percent in 2004. Around 72 percent of all teens, or 88 percent of teens who own mobile phones, use text messages to communicate. That marks a big jump from 2006 when only 51 percent of teens texted on their phones.Among those 12 to 17 years old, half of them send 50 or more text messages a day, while 15 percent tap out more than 200 instant messages every day. Results vary by gender and age. On average, boys send and receive around 30 text messages each day, while girls send and receive around 80 per day. Older girls are the biggest texters, with those 14 to 17 sending out more than 100 messages a day. Younger kids ages 12 to 13 are lighter users, typically sending and receiving around 20 texts each day.

Here is an interesting article that lays out the negative effects of texting on teens:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05.....6teen.html
Here is the punchline: “Among the jobs of adolescence are to separate from your parents, and to find the peace and quiet to become the person you decide you want to be.” “Texting hits directly at both those jobs.”

Call me vintage, too. I text once or twice a month at most.

Texting is so laborious for me...my phone doesn't have a qwerty keyboard and I dislike text-speak, so I tend to text using full words. Besides, I usually have too much to say! Much easier to just call somebody and spit it out!

Really the only time I text is to stay in touch with my 16 year old son. He much prefers it to phone calls. I do send emails via my phone though so maybe that counts? I have to say my son is way over the 150 per day mark. However, he's doing great in school, is responsible and has good social skills and we have a rule of no texting at meal times or when guests are over! He also brings his phone upstairs at 10:00 each night to charge it and so we know he's not texting all night. You'd be surprised at how many kids sleep with their phones and probably don't get a whole lot of quality sleep because they are getting interrupted all night long.
*edited to add that my 12 year old really wants one and is not getting one until high school. I don't see the need when he's at school or with us 99.9% of the time!