Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Monday, June 7, 2010

Survey reveals a fifth of youngsters play Text Roulette

Mobile phone comparison website Rightmobilephone.co.uk has been asking teenagers about their texting habits. 19% admitting having previously sent a text message to a 'random' mobile number, while 22% said they'd typed an obscene text message and sent it to someone in their contact list without checking who the recipient was.

42% of the random texters said they sent their SMS messages because they were bored. 31% said it was 'just for fun', 11% said it was due to loneliness and 9% were dared to do so. More than half – 54% – said they'd received a reply.

Neil McHugh, co-founder of Rightmobilephone.co.uk, said "We’d hope young people realise the dangers of texting strange numbers and adding people they don’t know on Facebook, although judging by the findings, this is not the case. As more young people now own mobile phones, I would encourage parents to keep a closer eye on how their children are using them. We were surprised by the number of teenagers that have actually taken part in these risky 'games' like Text Roulette and what was even more worrying is that the majority of the teenagers had a reply from texts they had sent to random numbers."

The survey involved 1,382 young people aged between 13 and 16.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
1 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: NewsNumber of views: 4516

Tags: facebook research sms

1 comments on article "Survey reveals a fifth of youngsters play Text Roulette"

2
0
Avatar image

David

12/21/2010 12:27 PM

What dangers are these that young people are not aware of? Unless sufficient personal information is given out to allow the texter to be tracked down I can't think of any at all.

Adding strange people on Facebook is a separate issue and I'm not sure what it has to do with this survey about text roulette.

This sounds like yet more scaremongering about how the youth of today are going to destroy themselves with technology unless there is some kind of crackdown. Text roulette is significantly less risky than knocking on doors and running off, which children have been annoying adults with forever without moral panic ensuing.

The non-existent risk of children coming to harm through sending silly texts to random numbers should not be used as an excuse for parents to exercise more control and pry into their offspring's private communications. Educating children about the risks involved in giving out personal information then letting them make their own decisions and having the decency to allow them some privacy is vastly preferable to Mr McHugh's suggestion that parents closely monitor their children's phones.

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Opinion Articles

India caps mobile text messages

Anjana Pasricha from voanews.com writes:

India’s millions of mobile phone subscribers have won relief from a growing nuisance on the subcontinent - unsolicited text messages. The crackdown by regulators targets the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone market.

From remote villages to crowded metros, the number of mobile phones in India has grown exponentially to more than 850 million in just over a decade.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Last week at The Fonecast: 3rd October 2011

Mark Bridge writes:

It’s time for my summary of last week’s mobile industry news… and what a week it’s been. Not just for me – I made my first-ever visit to Over The Air on Friday – but for the world of mobile devices.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

I'm no developer - but I still fell in love with Over The Air

Mark Bridge writes:

The text message just said "Yellow Citroën hatchback".  At least the diaeresis on the ë was in the right place. It meant the stranger who was giving me a lift from the station was probably an urbane French speaker. Either that, or they had surprisingly good predictive text on their phone. The third possibility - a serial killer with an old Sagem - hadn't crossed my mind yet.

It was at this point I realised I'd already fallen for Over The Air, a unique event aimed at mobile developers. Throwing caution to the wind, I'd arranged a lift there via Twitter with a mysterious developer I'd never met. Or spoken to.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

The Amazon Android tablet and the Apple iPhone 5

Mark Bridge writes:

I’m not a big fan of reporting on rumours - I’d rather wait until the real thing happens - but I thought these two stories were too big and too well-defined to ignore completely.

Firstly, it looks as though Amazon will be announcing an Android-powered tablet tomorrow. Called the Kindle Fire, it probably won’t be a direct replacement for the Kindle e-book reader but an alternative. Most commentators suggest we should expect a 7-inch colour screen, a focus on cloud-based services and a pretty heavily customised version of Android.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Are smartphones endangering security?

Ian Kilpatrick, chairman of IP security specialists Wick Hill Group, writes:

Smartphones are spreading throughout the business world. Their use is growing across organisations and at all levels.

According to Gartner, sales of mobile devices in the second quarter of 2011 grew 16.5% year-on-year. Smartphone sales grew 74% year-on-year and accounted for 25% of overall sales in the second quarter of 2011, up from 17% in the second quarter of 2010.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First5859606163656667Last

Recent Podcasts

Reviewing our 2015 mobile industry predictions... and looking forward to 2016

Podcast - 15th January 2016

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge return to review their mobile industry predictions from last year. Which mergers, partnerships and developments did they forecast correctly... and which didn’t work out as planned?

Later in the programme, the team anticipates some of the topics that will be hitting the headlines during 2016.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Podcast from Mobile World Congress 2015

Podcast - 6th March 2015

Mark Bridge learns about the mobile technology trends at Mobile World Congress 2015 by chatting to James Rosewell of 51Degrees, Dr Kevin Curran from the IEEE and Chris Millington of Doro.

They talk about wearable devices, wireless charging, mobile operating systems and much more... including some of their favourite products from the exhibition.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Looking back at February: from security scares to multiple MVNOs

Podcast - 27th February 2015

We're taking a look back at the biggest mobile industry news stories from February 2015, including allegations that the UK's security service tried to breach SIM card security by hacking into one of the world's biggest SIM producers.

We also talk about the planned BT and EE merger, the creation of two new UK virtual networks, some acquisitions in the mobile payment arena and a new Ubuntu smartphone.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Interview with Chris Millington of Doro about mobile retailing, wearables and technology for older consumers

Podcast - 24th February 2015

In today's programme Mark Bridge talks to Chris Millington, who's Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland.

They discuss the state of mobile retailing in the UK, the future of wearable devices and - as you might expect - smartphones for seniors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A month of mobile: O2 counts on 3, Microsoft counts to 10 and Apple counts its profits

Podcast - 30th January 2015

We're back with a month of mobile industry news, including takeover talks and takeover rumours. O2 and Three are said to be discussing a merger... but is there any truth in the suggestions that BlackBerry could be up for grabs?

We also discuss Apple's record-breaking quarterly figures, the highlights of CES and the launch of Microsoft Windows 10, as well as saying farewell to the current version of Google Glass.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
12345678910Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«October 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
30123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031123
45678910

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement