35% of Teens Admit to Cheating with Cell Phone, 100 Texts While in Classroom

By Reporter Wireless and Mobile News on June 22, 2009 1:31 PM

Moore than 35% of teens admit to cheating with cell phones, and more than half admit to using the Internet to cheat reports a study by the The Benenson Strategy Group for Common Sense Media. Furthermore, many students don't consider their actions to be cheating at all. The results show a need for parents, educators, and leaders to start a national discussion on digital ethics, notes Common Sense Media.

Findings from the poll include:

Teens with cell phones send 440 text messages a week and 110 a week while in the classroom.
41% of teens say that storing notes on a cell phone to access during a test is a serious cheating offense, while 23% don't think it's cheating at all.
45% of teens say that texting friends about answers during tests is a serious cheating offense, while 20% say it's not cheating at all.
76% of parents say that cell phone cheating happens at their teens' schools, but only 3% believe their own teen has ever used a cell phone to cheat.
Nearly two-thirds of students with cell phones use them during school, regardless of school policies against it.

"The results of this poll should be a wake-up call for educators and parents," said James Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media. "Cell phones and the Internet have been a real game-changer for education and have opened up many avenues for collaboration, creation, and communication. But as this poll shows, the unintended consequence of these versatile technologies is that they've made cheating easier. The call to action is clear: Parents and educators have to be aware of how kids are using technology to cheat and then help our kids understand that the consequences for online cheating are just as serious as offline cheating."

Kids have always found ways to cheat, but the tools they have today are more powerful than ever. In this poll, kids reveal that they're texting each other answers during tests, using notes and information stored on their cell phones during tests, and downloading papers from the Internet to turn in as their own work. Because the digital world is distant, hard to track, and mostly anonymous, kids are less likely to see the consequences of their online actions, especially when they feel they won't get caught.

Common Sense Media is asking parents and educators to step in to help kids develop a set of guidelines to follow in the digital world and to understand that the rules of right and wrong in their offline lives also apply in their online lives. For parents, it's important to understand and embrace the media their kids are using and have a frank discussion about cheating and its implications. Educators need to be hyper aware of the amount of hi-tech cheating happening in their schools, talk to students about it, and establish rules and consequences for the classroom that reflect the reality of our kids' 24/7 media world.

In conjunction with the poll, Common Sense Media is releasing a policy paper, "Digital Literacy and Citizenship in the 21st Century," which lays out its vision for educating, empowering, and protecting today's kids so they can develop the skills, knowledge, and ethics for today's digital world.

For full poll results, the policy paper, parent tips, and more, visit www.commonsensemedia.org/hi-tech-cheating.