It has been known for a long time that teenagers prefer to text their friends rather than call them; however this pastime appears to have hit a new high.

It seems that teenagers are sending twice as many texts as they did one year ago, with girls sending more than their male counterparts. In fact, girls aged 12-15 are sending over 30 texts a day. Boys, on the other hand, send a measly 23 a day.

The findings were part of a study carried out by Ofcom, who wanted to find out how modern technology is being used and whether it was influencing the behaviour of children. The researchers were shocked to find out that an average of 193 texts per year was sent by teenagers, doubling the number sent in 2011.

Another finding that also surprised researchers was that one-third of pre-school children were able to use the internet, whether this was from a PC, netbook or laptop. Moreover, another tenth were able to use devices such as tablets and iPads.

Modern technology pervades every area of our lives, so it is perhaps not surprising that such young children should have access to electronic products; however, Ofcom researchers were also concerned that pre-school children were watching nearly as much TV as teenagers, at 15.5 hours per week.

Claudio Pollack, Ofcom’s consumer group director, said: “Ofcom’s latest research shows that children’s take-up and use of different media is growing at a rapid pace.” He went on to add that “children are not just using more media, they are also adopting some forms at a very young age.”