[spamuell]

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Another thought. When I get my daughter a cell phone (probably for her 13th B-day) it will not have a text message feature. 13-17 year olds do not "need" to text each other. They can use the phone or exchange email if they "need" to communicate.

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Why not just tape up her mouth? 13-17 year old girls do not "need" to talk to each other, if it's imperative that she communicates then she can write a message on a piece of paper.

Look, of course it's not absolutely necessary for your teenage daughter to use text messaging/IM, but you would be cutting her off from an enormous amount of socialising with her peers if you prevented her from using them, it's far too over-protective.