Silverado (CA) - Greg Hardesty's teenage daughter managed to send 14,528 text messages last month. When he received his 440 page AT&T wireless phone bill, he thought it was a mistake. The dad, age 45, said "First I laughed. I thought 'That's insane. That's impossible.' And I immediate whipped out the calculator to see if it was humanly possible." He found out that it was, but just barely.


Reina, his 13-yr old daughter, would've had to send text message at the rate of 484 per day, or one every two minutes of every waking hour. When the father asked "Who are you texting anyway? Your entire school?" She replied, "A lot of my friends have unlimited texting. I just text them pretty much all the time."

According to the report, she routinely messages a core group of "four obsessive texters," all girls between 12 and 13 years old on her LG phone. Reina managed to text one of her friends who was sitting right next to her at a karaoke party.

Hardesty's AT&T phone plan included unlimited texting for $30/month. If he would've had to pay standard AT&T rates the bill would've been a whopping $2,905.60 (at $0.20 per message).

According to Nielson studies, the average 13- to 17-yr old teen texts 1,742 messages per month. Hardesty admits that he texts around 900 messages per month (30 per day), which is about 700 more than his age group.

As a result of this last month's activity, and in an attempt to curtail her texting activity, Hardesty and his ex-wife have now told Reina she can no longer send text messages after dinner.

Very misleading...

Jan 13, 2009 16:48     

This is very misleading. The article doesn't take into account sending one text to multiple people or received text. If I send one text to 10 people (which I do often) and then all 10 of them respond back within 10 minutes it will show up on my bill as 20 text messages in 10 minutes even though I really only sent 1 in 10 minutes.
Neal report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +11

There goes the average!!!

Jan 13, 2009 17:39     

LOL!!! Just wait and see...AT&T and all the other wireless carries will soon start raising the rate for unlimited texting due to a loss in revenues from people who text non-stop like her. I have to admit I am guilty in a similar way. Unlimited voice-2-voice and I call the person whom I one foot away on my cell so I don't have to talk a little louder. HAHAHAHAHHAHA
John Doe report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

Imagine if you were deaf....

Jan 13, 2009 18:06     

I know this is a lot of text messages. Especially for a teenage girl. But imagine if you were deaf. My wife has become very good friends with a dozen or so people in the deaf community where we live. She usually texts no less than 2100 messages a month. See when they are not face to face the easyist way for them to "talk" is via text. I can't begin to imagine how many texts they send a month.
Josh report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +14

I can relate...

Jan 13, 2009 19:02     

My 14 yr old daughter did 13,456 (total sent and received) the first month she had her phone. I had signed up for a family plan w/2100 minutes (5 phones) and unlimited text. I expected her to use the majority of the minutes. In reality, she used only 128! All of her communication is via text. She can text with one hand and do homework with the other. I've never seen anything like it. To be fair, she's not writing War and Peace with each text. Most are 1 - 2 words. Makes me seriously wonder about the devolution of human communication. I no longer have a 2100 minute plan...

jdh report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +14

I'm surprised her fingers haven't dropped off!...

Jan 13, 2009 19:51     

I'm surprised her fingers haven't dropped off!
cust report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

If only I had sooo many friends...........alas !!!!!!!!

Jan 13, 2009 20:56     

The statistics say one thing, but I can understand how you can send the smae text to 20 different people. I like the idea of the cut off time being after dinner. Sunil
Sunil DeSouza report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

hmph

Jan 13, 2009 21:35     

If he had unlimited texts then why would he limit messages. What do they do, eat dinner right before bed? Switching off the paper billing would be the more responsible thing to do.
ozzyz report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

Addictive Personality - Dangerous kid

Jan 14, 2009 00:25     

Dad should do a lot more than "laugh" and tell her she can't text after dinner. She obviously has developed a REAL addiction to it, and does it during all waking hours (not just after dinner). Mom and Dad need to get this kid to a therapist, otherwise as she grows older she'll develop a whole lost more addictive behaviors that some poor slob will get trapped in after the wedding.
Atlantaguy report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +4

School?

Jan 14, 2009 00:29     

With that frequency of texting, she must be texting thru class. No wonder kids are getting dumber. Heaven help us all as we depend on this generation.
Mike report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +10

Poor kid

Jan 14, 2009 01:30     

Sad that live is now lived through little boxes - apparently non-stop. As a parent I would take it out of her allowance. She is too old not to know from where money comes.
Anja report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Sad reflection on society...

Jan 14, 2009 08:26     

That people pay more attention to a 2 square inch LCD screen than the real world around them... Its pathetic really.
Darth Vader report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +12

Poor parenting

Jan 14, 2009 08:53     

Sounds more like a father who doesn't know how to manage his daughter. That rate of texting is not acceptable for teenager IMO. It points to the fact she has few if any responsibilities.
CJ report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +7

Put down the phone and get a life.......

Jan 14, 2009 08:59     

Now that her hand is warmed up, try playing the piano or going outside and DOING somethin.....
Ross report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +7

That is ridiculous

Jan 14, 2009 09:15     

If my kids had wasted that much time texting that would be the end of the phone for a month Parents should get off their lazy bums and monitor their kids a little more instead of waiting for the bill to tell them tsk tsk.
doug report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +4

That is ridiculous

Jan 14, 2009 09:15     

If my kids had wasted that much time texting that would be the end of the phone for a month Parents should get off their lazy bums and monitor their kids a little more instead of waiting for the bill to tell them tsk tsk.
doug report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

The parents are to blame

Jan 14, 2009 09:16     

There's no way she was paying attention during class if she's texting (at best) once every 4 minutes. If she had parents that SHOULD be parents, they should get her off the unlimited texting plan. I'll bet they enabled her even more by buying her a phone with a full qwerty keyboard.
Anonymous report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Kids treat the phone like a Video game...

Jan 14, 2009 09:20     

I've seen my daughters text messages, and they are pretty random and short. Kinda like a verbal video game. So I can see how she could send that many text messages. Adults write letters, kids jab at each other...
Bryan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Re: School?

Jan 14, 2009 09:57     

I know! The school can give classes through text messages! "E=MC²" "Whales are mammals" "Recess time. Do we need to open the doors or are you going to sit in class typing on your phone?" Sounds great! *rolleyes*
nke report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

Dailim

Jan 14, 2009 10:28     

oh... Dailim!:)
Dailim report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

wow u need a LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jan 14, 2009 10:29     

k hmm where to start?? wats ur numba?? k byee
Dailim report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

Yeah, Go ahead and judge.

Jan 14, 2009 10:31     

The average person watches 4-5 hours of TV a day. That's 1,825 hours a of TV a year which in turn equates to roughly 60 days of TV watching. Yeah. Go ahead and judge someone while you sit brainlessly and watch endless hours of Tee Vee. Self righteous people suck. And no, I don't watch TV but have plenty of other useless activities to waste my time with.
FrederalXpress report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

Dinner will be very late tonight...

Jan 14, 2009 10:32     

If she can't text after dinner, I bet dinner will be served with the bedtime story.
Sol Young report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Blackberry Bold

Jan 14, 2009 10:33     

That's nothing.... my parents and I are on a Family plan, my mom having a Blackberry Bold, my Father having an iPhone 3G, and I having a Blackberry Bold as well. We typically have over a 1,000 page bill if we don't choose the simple detail billing. My mother text's in upwards of 500 messages a day and I tend to average about 400. My Dad sends between 50 and 100 a day also. What people don't think about is that when my mom will text me and we start a convo it's typically 3 or 4 word answeres that take no more than 5 seconds to write and send on my blackberry. I can send 200 messages in an hour at work and then not send any the rest of the day until at night I have a couple convos with friends and go to bed. I'm in no way attached to my phone 24/7 but there are a few hours a day that I have nothing better to do than sit and text. 14,000 text's in a month is nothing when you consider at Camp my friends and I can reach over 10,000 in 2 weeks..... She needs to step it up....

Caleb report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

It's not that bad....

Jan 14, 2009 10:35     

I average about 10000 messages a month as is. It's really not that big of a deal.
Chad report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

her mother laughs about it?

Jan 14, 2009 10:58     

Her mother laughs about doing homework and texting at the same time. If she can do that it tells me that she isn't concentrating on her homework. If I were this kid's parents I would take the phone away. I would say the computer too but she would need it for school work.
rose report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

oops, i guess that comment was to jdh. How well is...

Jan 14, 2009 10:59     

oops, i guess that comment was to jdh. How well is your kid doing in school if she can do both of them? I would seriously look at taking it away until her homework is done.
rose report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Completely Underrated

Jan 14, 2009 11:02     

I have no idea why this is a major deal. I read the headline and laughed I have physical proof from T-Mobile of 3 months in a row where my lowest total was 29,546. My highest was 34,586. I have a life. I have a wife. I am in the military.... It really isn't that hard to do this. When talking to 20 people at once you can eawily get 1000 a day. I am not inthe same age group. i am 23. but still. if i wasn't working 8-10 hours a day, then i probably would text even more.

Brian T. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +1

It's funny, the U.S. is finally getting in to txtin...

Jan 14, 2009 12:39     

It's funny, the U.S. is finally getting in to txting. Asia has been the txting region of world since 2001...mostly because it was free then, compared to actually calling. It still dominates the way we communicate across the world...
PinoyTxr report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

what do they talk about?

Jan 14, 2009 13:05     

I was never a big gabber. I just can't imagine why anybody needs to talk that much. Any friend of mine who texts me that obsessively would annoy the hell out of me.
Sean report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

My 11 yr old Daughter Texted 6300 last month

Jan 14, 2009 14:32     

And I didnt have unlimited texts, the bill was about $800 bucks. Needless to say, she no longer has texting on her phone.
KB Cooper report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +5

Pathetic Parenting At Best

Jan 14, 2009 15:05     

Just as Cj said...this is pathetic parenting. But then again half the girls in this age group walk around as though they are pole dansers, then again their mothers walk around in outfits that make them look like 12 year olds...hmmm similarity. Dad texts 700 a month...daughter does 2x that hmmmm...similarity. This kid has little or no worth while extra curricular activities...Gee...her off spring will probably be doing 10,000 text messages per month and mom will say...Yea..So ?

GjP report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

uhm, long phone bill?

Jan 14, 2009 15:38     

i dont get why the phone bill was so long. they dont send you a copy of each text. usually it just tells you the number of texts sent & received??
Christine report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

I care more about a 440 page bill!!!! What about the trees?

Jan 14, 2009 23:11     

I wonder if AT&Ts list every single time sms was sent for everyone and print them out and mail them? Or did this guy request a special bill? Cuz if not, doesn't that seem like a rediculous waste of trees, money, and shipping costs!
Craig report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +3

In response to Ross

Jan 15, 2009 06:44     

Now that her fingers are warmed up, I would bet she has more fun playing with herself then with her phone... chronic texting vs chronic... well you get the idea.
Core report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -6

Re: Completely Underrated

Jan 15, 2009 15:30     

Thank goodness you're not in my country's military.
nke report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

Time for a break.

Jan 16, 2009 15:08     

Looks like we need a text block for responsibility training.
JimmyL report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

Obama's Bad Blackberry Idea

Jan 17, 2009 03:03     

At least his Blackberry is broken now maybe others will get the idea that those devices are to cheaply made, that they cannot take a fall out of a limo onto the pavement cause they burst into pieces and that will save trillions of dollars in text messages and maybe some people will get the hint not to buy one, coming from President Obama's best experience he has had with one. So he cannot text message & connect with Real Americans any further. Obama dropped it while getting out of his limousine to board a plane in Washington. A Secret Service agent helped Obama pick up the many pieces from the frozen tarmac.

Charles Jones report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -2

That's it? That her punishment?

Jan 17, 2009 08:32     

That's her punishment? No texting after dinner? What about no texting while at school? What about no texting while sitting right next to the person that's texting you? I hate technology, especially cell phones. My boyfriend bought me a cell for christmas with a pay and talk plan. It's still in it's original packaging in my car. I strongly believe no child under the age of 20 should have a cell phone and if they want one they should have to buy it and pay any and all bills associated with it.

melanie report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

RE: her mother laughs about it?

Jan 18, 2009 15:13     

If she can do her Calculus or her English Lit while texting I don't see the problem. Did you consider that her friends might have been helping each other with their homework? (Some parents let their kids have help with homework.) It could be far worse, She could have been voice chatting VS texting. I never will understand why anyone would talk on a phone. That is the ultimate waist of time and bandwidth.

Ralf The Dog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

Why did the parents want a detailed bill?

Jan 18, 2009 15:16     

Responsible parents like to know who their kids talk to. If they found Mr. Chainsaw Perv on the list it would be time for a nice little talk (or text).
Ralf The Dog report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1

that normal for teeners in the philippines

Jan 18, 2009 19:31     

that's perfectly normal for kids her age in my country.
kechie wan report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +2

simply ridiculous

Feb 18, 2009 16:32     

Her parents should confiscate her phone, period. I mean, why would anyone send that many messages
Kristy Brehm report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0

hi, I have the samsung x820 model. I bought from UK...

May 04, 2009 00:33     

hi, I have the samsung x820 model. I bought from UK. IMEI No is 359308005457886. this I would like to unlock the system. I found the unlock instructions from mobileunlockguide.com. but I want the unlock code. how do i get the code?
Ahamed report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0