The survey, conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) for Liz Claiborne Inc. provides startling data about parents and teens ranging from 13-18 in age.
Among the many findings:
- Teens report dating abuse via technology is a serious problem
- 71 percent of teens regard boyfriends/girlfriends spreading rumors about them on cellphones and social networking sites as a serious problem
- 68 percent of teens say boyfriends/girlfriends sharing private or embarrassing pictures/videos on cell phones and computers is a serious problem
- 24 percent communicated with their partner via cellphone or texting hourly between midnight and 5:00 a.m.
- 30 percent say they are text messaged 10, 20, 30 times an hour by a partner inquiring where they are, what they're doing, or who they're with.
Regarding parental knowledge of dating abuse:
- 67 percent of parents, whose teens were checked up on 30 times per day on their cell phone, did not know this was happening
- 82 percent of parents, whose teens were e-mailed or texted 30 times per hour, did not know this was happening
- 71 percent of parents, whose teens were afraid of not responding to a cell phone call, text or IM message or e-mail for fear of what their partner might do, did not know this was happening
- 67 percent of parents, whose teens were asked to have sex or engage in sexual acts via cell phone, e-mail, IM, or texting when they did not want to, did not know this was happening.
Additionally:
- 25 percent of teens in a relationship say they have been called names, harassed, or put down by their partner through cellphones and texting
- 22 percent have been asked to engage in sex by cellphone or the Internet when they do not want to.
