Nielsen: Teen mobile data usage quadruples over last year

Teens in the U.S. have quadrupled the mobile data consumption over the last year, with 94 percent of teen subscribers self-identifying as advanced data users who've embraced mobile devices for messaging services, web access, multimedia and gaming experiences, and application downloads, according to new data published by consumer research firm The Nielsen Company. American teens send and receive an average of 3,339 texts each month, translating to more than six texts for each hour they're awake--an 8 percent jump over 2009. Female subscribers between the ages of 13 and 17 lead all texting demographics, sending and receiving an average of 4,050 messages per month--males in the same age range average 2,539 texts per month. Forty three percent of American teens cite text messaging as their primary reason for purchasing a mobile phone, followed by safety (35 percent), keeping in touch with friends (34 percent) and keeping in touch with family (26 percent).

Thirty eight percent of teens now download mobile applications each month, increasing from 26 percent a year ago. In addition, 49 percent of teens access the mobile web, up from 40 percent in 2009--Nielsen notes that mobile web usage now surpasses surpassed activity on pre-installed games, ringtone downloads and instant messaging. Corresponding with increasing mobile data consumption, teens are becoming less reliant on their phones for traditional voice communications--voice activity is down 14 percent year-over-year, to an average of 646 minutes per month.

For more on the teen data consumption study:
- read this Nielsen Blog entry

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