"I don't use calls on my phone," Ortega said. "I just text."

In the very near future, the number of used cell minutes is likely to decline substantially in relation to the number of text messages sent. This is already the case but we see an enormous shift ahead.

Trends: Teens and text messaging
Cell phone users ages 13-17 our using text messaging instead of cell minutes. Cell phone providers know this. Hence, providers are raising text message prices in order to capture as much revenue as possible right now. Why? We have a theory...

Psychology 101 for Teens.

1. Independence is the ultimate goal of adolescence. One of the simplest ways to achieve a sense of independence is to maintain one's privacy.

Text messaging and the "language" of texting allows teens to maintain a sense of individualiity and cohesion. The entire "group" that is the teen population can communicate in one language that parents simply do not understand. Similarly, teens can congregate at online social networks and communicate en masse using their MySpace, Facebook or Friendster pages and bulletins.

The choice to text message their friends rather than call, meets a number of needs but most importantly, texting keeps things "private" and reinforces feelings of independence.

What does this mean for text messaging trends in the future?

This generation of teens will grow into a robust consumer base of text message users (not email users like those before them) and they will replace email with text messaging as their primary point of contact.

This chart below reflects this trend. The users are 18-20, college educated and use social networks and text messaging more than any other medium.

One can see the generational trends at the far right showing Freshman primarily utilizing social networks and text messaging over other forms of communication.

There are no signs of this trend reversing.