New research suggests teens with smartphones are more likely to
be involved in risky sexually behavior, which includes meeting
up with people they meet online using their phones. According to
researchers with the University of Southern California, not only
are a third of teens using smartphones, but they're one and a
half times more likely than non-smartphone users to be sexually
active. The study surveyed about 1,800 kids ages 12 to 18 in the
Los Angeles Public School District. Many of them are from middle
and low income homes. They found 47 percent of the smartphone
users said they were sexually active compared to 35 percent who
don't own smartphones. Seventeen percent of smartphone users
admitted to having sex with someone they met online compared to
14 percent of kids without. Researchers said the results should
be a wake-up call for parents. Amy Birchill Lavergne, executive
director of the Nick Finnegan Counseling Center told Local 2,
"If you're going to give them this piece of equipment, you
should star