Survey: Why parents are texting their kids
Posted by Charles Batchelor on October 11, 2008
Survey Shows Parents Are Learning to Text From Their Kids; Children Like Privacy, Cool Factor, Efficiency of Texting
A new survey released on Oct. 8 announced that, “Many parents view text messaging as a convenient way to stay connected with their children. The survey, conducted by Synovate for AT&T, “sought to better understand how and when parents text with their children and vice versa.”
AT&T’s survey came to the same conclusions at we did about texting and parenting.
“Text messaging has proved to be a powerful tool to help parents and kids close the communications gap,” said Alecia Bridgwater, director of Messaging for AT&T’s wireless unit.
“Not only does text messaging allow parents to enter their child’s world, but it provides an unintrusive way for families to stay in touch throughout the day as needed, whether it’s coordinating schedules, sending reminders about doctor’s appointments or just texting a ‘thinking of you’ message.”
WuduPlz was designed to help adults with texting. And who do adults often text? “Parents text most often with their children. Seventy-nine percent of parents surveyed said they text with their children most often to tell them to come or phone home, representing the most common type of parent-child text message,” according to the survey.
The AT&T press release quoted a mother of three as saying, “Texting is sometimes the easiest way to keep track of my kids,” said Janet Sturley. “They’re so much more likely to respond quickly to a text message, and it’s the most convenient and inexpensive way to keep tabs on them. I’ve become extremely fluent in the language of text.”
Some 73 percent of parents think that their children are more likely to respond to a text message. Half of parents surveyed had the impression that texting makes them a “cool” parent.
The survey noted that “children like the privacy of text messaging (65 percent), the cool/hip factor (49 percent) and that it’s a better use of time than calling (48 percent).”
http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26157
