Students are already aware of the risk of texting while driving, but excessive texting in teens might also be a gateway to dangerous behavior.
The study from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine found a link between the use of communication tools and poor health behaviors like smoking, drinking and sexual activity in teenagers.
According to research, 19.8 percent of students were classified as “hyper-texters,” or students who sent more than 120 text messages per day.
Hyper-texters were 40 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, twice as likely to have tried alcohol, 43 percent more likely to be binge drinkers and 41 percent more likely to have used illegal drugs.
According to the study, hyper-texters are 55 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex and 90 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners.
The study suggests “texting and other widely popular methods of staying connected can have dangerous health effects,” Scott Frank, lead director of the study and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Master of Public Health program, said in a news release.
Some students were skeptical but could see a correlation between the hyper-texting and health risks.
“I could see where they’re coming from. If you spend more time texting, you’re more sociable so you are more likely to be exposed to those kinds of things,” said Alexis Wilson, dental hygiene sophomore.
James Honeycutt, communication studies professor, said the study would have to be replicated to determine true significance.
Results “may be statistically significant depending on the sample size, but theoretically meaningless. Hence, the findings could be trivial,” Honeycutt said.
D’Amber Gilbert, sociology sophomore, said the only bad habit she could see coming from texting profusely is procrastinating.
Welby Goode, political science sophomore, said he could see a correlation between hyper-texting and sexual activity because of “sexting.”
Spending more than three hours per day on social networking sites — or hyper-networking — was reported by 11.5 percent of students sampled. Hyper-networking is linked to poor sleep, stress, depression, substance abuse and poor academics, according to the study.
“This should be a wake-up call for parents to not only help their children stay safe by not texting and driving, but by discouraging excessive use of the cell phone or social websites in general,” Frank said.
Hyper-networking teens are 62 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, 79 percent more likely to have tried alcohol and 69 percent more likely to be binge drinkers, according to the study.
They are also 84 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 69 percent more likely to have had sex and 60 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners, according to the study.
Researchers surveyed a cross-section of high school students from an urban county in the Midwest, according to the study.
 
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Contact Grace Montgomery at [email protected]