( CNN ) -- As most parents of adolescents know all too well , text messaging has become the preferred method of communication for American teenagers , with one in three teens sending more than 100 texts a day , a new survey says . The survey by the Pew Research Center 's Internet & American Life Project illustrates the indispensable role that text messaging , and mobile phones in general , play in the lives of today 's teenagers . Three-quarters of 12- to 17-year-olds own cell phones , up from 45 percent in 2004 , and daily text messaging to friends has increased rapidly in recent years . The research , made public Tuesday , confirms that teens make and receive far fewer phone calls than text messages . They primarily use their phones for voice calling when communicating with parents , although they prefer text messaging when it comes to communicating with their peers . Although teens make or receive about five calls a day , half of them send a minimum of 50 text messages a day , the survey found . `` Texting is so functional and efficient , '' said Amanda Lenhart , a senior research specialist at Pew , when asked to explain the survey results . `` It 's convenient and fits into those small spaces in daily life . You 're not talking about much , but you 're telling people you 're connected to them . '' How do teens manage to send so many text messages while spending the better part of Monday through Friday in the classroom ? Forty-three percent of teens who take their phones to school reported sending at least one text message from class a day , despite the fact that many schools have banned cell phones in class . Lenhart said this just goes to show how important text messaging is to teens . `` Teenagers have been looking for ways to skirt around rules and defy administrators for millennia , whether it 's passing notes in class or passing digital notes in class through cell phones , '' she said . And teenage girls are doing most of the texting . Girls send and receive about 80 text messages a day , while boys send and receive only 30 . This is not a surprising find , according to Pew , as females also use other communicative tools more than males . Girls will text for social reasons more so than boys will , the survey found . For example , 59 percent of girls text their friends multiple times a day `` just to say hello , '' as opposed to 49 percent of boys who do the same . The fact that girls use their cell phones more than boys might be one reason that of the 64 percent of parents who have monitored their teens ' cell phones , the vast majority are parents of 12- to 13-year-old girls . `` It 's a historic relationship . ... Parents tend to regulate girls more than boys for a variety of social and gender reasons , '' Lenhart said . Teens are using their phones to record and share their daily experiences , Lenhart said . In addition to texting , 83 percent of teens use their mobile phones to take pictures , and 64 percent of teens share their pictures with others . During focus groups , Lenhart said , she asked teens what they liked to take pictures of with their cell phones . The most common answers : their pets , the people in their lives and the funny things they want to share with their friends . Lenhart said the growth of wireless carriers ' unlimited texting plans has made it easier for teens to communicate via text message . `` It 's like the all-you-can-eat plan , '' she said . Teenagers `` do n't have to worry about cramming everything into 160 characters anymore . ... It does n't cost 20 cents to send 'OK ' to a friend . '' The Pew survey was conducted last summer on landline and cell phones , and it included 800 youths ages 12-17 , plus one of their parents .
Most teens prefer texting to talking on cell phones , Pew Research Center survey says . Survey : One in three teenagers send more than 100 text messages a day . 43 percent of teens reported sending at least one text message from class a day . Comment: