A new study from the American Psychological Association found that texting can negatively impact school performance of teenage girls but not of teenage boys, CBS News reports.
While teenagers prefer texting as their primary means of communication, sending or receiving an average of 167 text messages per day, it is not the frequency of texting that affected the girls' academic performance but the habit of compulsive texting, according to the study.
"It appears that it is the compulsive nature of texting, rather than sheer frequency, that is problematic," lead researcher Kelly M. Lister-Landman at Delaware County Community College said in a press release. "Compulsive texting is more complex than frequency of texting. It involves trying and failing to cut back on texting, becoming defensive when challenged about the behavior, and feeling frustrated when one can't do it."
Interestingly, this behavior was not observed in teenage boys.
In a study involving 403 students, researchers used a Compulsive Texting Scale to determine if texting hindered them from fulfilling certain tasks. The scale also allowed them to see the students' preoccupation with texting.
The researchers asked questions like, "How often do you check your texts before doing something else that you need to do?" and "How often do you find yourself frustrated because you want to text but you have to wait?" The students were also asked if they tried to minimize the time they spend texting but failed.
The researchers found that teenage girls and teenage boys text for different purposes. Generally, boys text to convey information while girls text for social interaction.
"Girls in this developmental stage also are more likely than boys to ruminate with others, or engage in obsessive, preoccupied thinking, across contexts," Lister-Landman said. "Therefore, it may be that the nature of the texts girls send and receive is more distracting, thus interfering with their academic adjustment."
Lister-Landman recommended that parents seek to understand the texting behavior of their teenage girls and to be on the lookout for "any indicators of compulsive use." They should also check if texting disrupts their children's sleep, another factor that leads to poor academic performance.
"It would be helpful for parents to look for signs of whether texting seems stressful for their teens, particularly if they have difficulty cutting back their texting or seem anxious when they are unable to text," she told CBS News.
She also said putting "screen free" zones at home – for isntance, at the dinner table – can help teens cut back on texting.
The study was published in the Oct. 5 issue of the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture.
