back to article SMARTPHONES make TEENS have SEX with STRANGERS

Teens with internet-enabled phones will have more sex with fewer condoms, research at the University of Southern California has found. And the mobe-inspired jigjig was more likely to be with a stranger they met on the internet. Having a smartphone opened up "a risky avenue" said the researchers: finding a correlation between …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    yeah well i still got my nokia 1611...hello girls

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Nokias

      I use a 3310. A real phone. It can make phonecalls, I can send text messages and I can trow it out of a 3rd floor window without worrying about it breaking. Why would I need a "smart" phone??

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Why would I need a "smart" phone??

        To get sex.

        Apparently it's more fun than phone calls and text messages.

      2. Geoff332

        Re: Nokias

        Perhaps to stop you stupidly throwing it out of a 3rd floor window?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Don't believe everything you read, it's not working for me!

  2. Not Fred31
    Joke

    Fewer?

    "Teens with internet-enabled phones will have more sex with fewer condoms,"

    Good lord, I've only ever used one at a time... even before I had a smart phone.

    1. I think so I am?
      Joke

      Re: Fewer?

      Must be a lot of insurance claims for damaged smart phones - cant imagine its just the one guy who stuck his Iphone in a vagina, of a cow

      1. Psyx
        Pint

        Re: Fewer?

        "Must be a lot of insurance claims for damaged smart phones - cant imagine its just the one guy who stuck his Iphone in a vagina, of a cow"

        Well; he was having reception issues and Apple said he was holding it wrong, while friends told him that only C&^%s use iPhones anyway, so he put the two and two together...

    2. Ken 16 Silver badge

      Re: Fewer?

      Yes, I think it's saying they're using fewer than one at a time. Presumably they decided it was more effective as a waterproof case for their phone?

    3. Thomas 4

      Re: Fewer?

      I've never had sex with a condom. I've only ever had sex with women. =/

      1. Don Jefe
        Joke

        Re: Fewer?

        Liar.

  3. tommy060289
    Facepalm

    this reminds me of my favourite statistic

    which aligns the rise in global warming with the fall in number of people worshipping the great pirate god.

    Clearly this leads to conclusive evidence that global warming is the great pirate god seeking revenge for his lack of worshippers!

    1. John G Imrie

      Re: this reminds me of my favourite statistic

      All hail the FSM.

      Pasta be upon you.

      Ramen.

    2. wowfood

      Re: this reminds me of my favourite statistic

      Sounds to me like the great statistic "Most accidents happen at home" yes, because we spend most of our time at home.

      "People with smart phones were 1.5x more likely to find people to diddle on the internet" yeah, because they spend 1.5x more time on the internet thanks to the smart phones.

      "And the ones with smart phones were twice as likely to actually do something with the strangers they meet" of course they are. The kids with smartphones are probably the ones who got a ferrari for their 16th, while the kids with normal phones are probably the mouth breathers who wno't get laid until their 30's anyway.

      1. Tom 35

        Re: this reminds me of my favourite statistic

        Good thing they didn't look at kids who read comics on their smart phone while listening to rock music...

      2. Ken 16 Silver badge

        Re: this reminds me of my favourite statistic

        No, the ones without smart phones are more likely to have sex with people they've met before.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: this reminds me of my favourite statistic

      Smartphone ownership among 14-15 year olds appears to have some correlation with dysfunctional family situations according to the sample of my 14 year old sons contemporaries. Another survey anyone?

    4. plrndl

      Re: this reminds me of my favourite statistic

      My favourie statistic states that if present trends continue, by the year 2023 everyone on the planet will be an Elvis impersonator

  4. Graham Marsden
    WTF?

    So...

    ... this has nothing to do with the lamentable state of sex education in the USA and the influence of the Moral Minority who think that promoting abstinence whilst ensuring ignorance is actually a good way of preventing teen pregnancies...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So...

      They probably think that if they stretch the condom over their smartphone then they'll be ok.

    2. James Micallef Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: So...

      Teenagers are roaring maelstroms of hormones, many of which are screaming "SEX" at them, so yes, teenagers want sex and they will look for new people to have sex with. So I don't see why "teenagers with smartphones have more sex" is remarkeable, it's the same as "teenagers who are better connected have more sex"

      The lack of condom use is what should be concerning, but then again, good old US of A and it's 'abstinence-only' sex-ed classes!!

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So...

      someone's been watching the "news" again...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So kids with iPhones are more likely to be Jimmy Saville'd?

    Got to be a marketing angle there for someone.

    Probably not Apple though.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So kids with iPhones are more likely to be Jimmy Saville'd?

      now then now then

  6. Jediben
    Coat

    17%? Be right back...

    Just nipping out to buy 5 more phones...

  7. Don Jefe

    So What

    This just in, teens have sex too. (I didn't get to when I was a teen, but I tried!) Often with strangers even before smartphones and instant nudie pics. They go to parties, get drunk and bone someone, always have, always will. Adults seem to forget that 16 year olds think they are grown up and do stuff all the time that would not make their parents proud.

    Sex with a stranger does not require a smartphone. Studies like this are stupid and completely ignore human nature and cultural pressures.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Go

      and > Non-heterosexual kids...5x more sex with someone they met on the internet

      So LGBT kids - at school generally either firmly if precariously in the closet or at the eye of the bullying storm - show an elevated tendency to find sexual partners over the internet. Anybody surprised by this result needs an empathy transfusion pronto - we should celebrate the fact that modern kids have better and safer ways of exploring central parts of their lives than their parents ever did!

      ...except of course for the fall in barrier protection - too many impromptu decisions? And how should we address that?

      (a) delete the internet, or at the least restrict mobile phone ownership to over 20s

      (b) preach many more hellfire sermons

      (c) do some decent sex ed. Make it blunt, frank, universal - and get the message across that nice girls and boys carry condoms, if not always for themselves then for their less prudent friends.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Aha!

    High-schoolers with smartphones are 1.5 times more to be sexually active than teens with less fully-featured mobiles.

    That explains my lack of success whilst I was still at school.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Aha!

      Same here. I tried my best to increase my chances though - I confiscated the pupils that had better phones than me!

      1. M Gale

        Re: Aha!

        " I confiscated the pupils that had better phones than me!"

        Now then now then.

  9. frank ly

    Genius!

    " ... it wasn't the network packet flow itself that was encouraging sexual behaviour in the youngsters, but rather that the phone acted as a tool to enable the behaviour."

    What an incredible insight.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Gimp

      The steady throb of the Rx LED...

      ...the responsive slightly delayed pulse of the answering Tx, data windows sliding, expanding, engorging, going faster yet faster, smell of warming plastic...it all started with a little handshaking, a quick probe for responsiveness

      ...ah! it is just me then. Glad to have cleared that up, thanks for your help!

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      "approached for sex on the internet"

      Yes, I was going to say I didn't think that the W3C had approved a 'sex' request type for HTTP.

  10. adam payne

    They just came up with a marketing campaign and didn't even realise it.

    Buy a smart phone and you'll get laid.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      But the "and get pregnant" bit might not go down so well.

      Correlation, caustion here?

  11. plrndl

    Stranger In The Night

    My smartphone doesn't seem to be working like this. What model do I need?

  12. Craig 12

    So, um, what apps do I need to download again?

  13. Roby

    Correlation does not imply causation

    As someone else said, the ones with smartphones are probably more spoilt and allowed to do whatever they please and overall experienced worse parenting.

    1. M Gale

      Correlation does not imply causation...

      ...however it does waggle its eyebrows and wiggle its hips while cooing suggestively "lookie, over here!"

  14. Psyx
    Joke

    I've been holding off on getting a smartphone, but I think I'll go get me one after work, having read this.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      I think mine must be faulty

      So I have ordered a container-load more.

  15. Curly4
    Go

    Dose not MAKE

    The smart phone dose not make but it sure dose enable the teens to make unwise choices. But with free abortions and HIV covered by insurance what is the big deal?

    1. M Gale

      HIV covered by insurance

      I'm sure that as you lay in the hospital bed, the retroviral drugs failing to make the common cold stop killing you slowly and painfully, you'll be glad that at least the insurance is paying for it.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Unhappy

    Damnit!!

    Where were the smartphones when I was in high school!!

    Speaking from experience "Hey baby, want check out this Apple II GX!" doesn't get you anywhere....

  17. Dave 15

    If only

    doesn't seem that it happens that much here... or maybe I am just far too ugly

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Statisitic?

    --- People with more access to internet more likely to have sex with people they meet on the internet.

    --- Especially if they are hormone-drenched teenagers.

    Where do I apply for the funding for my study to reach this conclusion?

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Non-heterosexual kids ???

    is it "homosexual kids"? Or is it this indiscriminate ones who don't mind who and / or what they fuck?

  20. James Gosling
    Thumb Up

    Lets be positive about this...

    At least that's one transferable skill they have learned!

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Match.com study...

    I was a member of match.com and I have an Android phone. I can tell you now why iPhone users have more sex: the application works on iPhone and it is impossible to download the android version. With no users able to use their match.com app on Andoid - the playing field is full of iPhone users...

    1. DigiTime
      Stop

      Match.com

      I would ask anyone thinking of using match.com to use another service as they are a bunch of thieving *****! I cancelled my account and they automatically renewed it and took £30 for the pleasure. A stern talking with my credit card company and it was sorted - but that kind of underhanded business really pisses me off.

  22. lglethal Silver badge
    FAIL

    Researchers always forget...

    Researchers always forget that kids Lie!!!

    "I had sex yesterday!"

    "so did I"

    "Oh yeah, who with?"

    "Umm, some chick I met on the internet."

    "Bull!"

    "Seriously, I found her thanks to my smartphone..."

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Other correlations to check

    Of course, there could be other correlations here:

    Do teenagers from better-off families (thus: more likely to have a smartphone) have more sex?

    Do teenagers who's parents don't disciplinary them (parents who spoil their kids being more likely to give the kid a smartphone and data plan) have more sex?

    Do the socio-economic leanings of the parents have an impact? (more modern-liberal parents being more likely to give the kid a phone than more modern-conservative parents)

  24. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Gah

    So it wasn't my sparkling personality that saw me ending up in bed with a very charming nordic student, then, it was my my smartphone- FML :D

  25. Andrew Duffin

    No confounding factors were present in this research, no sir, none at all.

    And the respondents weren't self-selected, oh no, not in any way.

    What a load of bull.

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