That would make me a "poster child" in terms of having a teen with a cell phone addiction...
My daughter got her first cell phone on her 10th birthday...at the time, probably the first of her peers with one. It was a basic Nokia, and with both parents (us) away at work and her being in all sorts of extracurricular activities, it was imperative that we kept a lifeline available...hence the cell phone.
Texting wasn't prevalent then, and she used prudence with call volume, so was deemed her responsible enough to select a more fashionable phone later on...so she purchased a RAZR with her babysitting money when she turned 12.
Eventually, her peers matched her in that respect, even eclipsing her with the latest "haute couture" in phone technology...so her friends roll with iPhones and other wizardry available in the cell phone world.
Meanwhile, while continually disregarding my repeated warning regarding potential damage due to her leaving the case off of her phone, the display on the RAZR is finally cracked. She is confident that we will oblige with a sleek new phone. WRONGO!
Her contract isn't due for renewal, so every product is full asking price. So we accomodate with the cheapest phone available...with a protective skin. She LOATHES her new phone and conveniently "loses" it. We don't replace it. She realizes that she is in dire straits without a phone and wishes that she had that POS back.
The POS is found months later, and she is grateful, although she complains often about its spartan functionality. Texting is in full force among her peers, and her basic phone is ill-suited for the task...she manages to text nonetheless.
By this time, whenever we see our kid (or IF we ever see her), her head is down, while her fingers are busily punching keys. I have had to set ground rules on when and when not to text (i.e., not during dinner and not in church, etc.).
Nevertheless, her 14th birthday arrives, and I reward her introverted social skills brought on by texting with a new Blackberry (with a skin, of course). She is elated!
Her texting volume hasn't increased, but her furious keypressing has increased dramatically as a result of the QWERTY keypad. I wonder silently if she will get carpal-tunnel knuckles by adulthood as a result...good thing her athletic skills are focused on track and soccer, where fingers are not essential...
