I've been interviewed about teens texting each other in the middle of the night before. It's sort of like in the movies when teens living next door to each other would talk on walkie talkies in the wee hours of the morning or send each other flashlight signals. When you're a teen, your friends are the most important people in the world and you feel like if you stop talking to them, they will somehow vanish. I'm exaggerating, but the desire to stay connected is strong -- especially when it's a boyfriend or girlfriend.

Now there is an actual study that shows teens love of technology is encroaching on them getting a good night's sleep. According to Science Daily, "A new study finds that cell phone use after bedtime is very prevalent among adolescents, and its use is related to increased levels of tiredness after one year." Basically, staying up and texting means not getting enough sleep. The article offers some practical common sense tips from The American Academy of Sleep Medicine for teens on how to get a good night's rest. First tip: Keep computers and TVs out of the bedroom. Do not stay up late to talk or text message on the cell phone or surf the Internet so as to cut into your sleep time

In related news, AT&T announced it's launching "Smart Limits," a new plan where for $4.99 parents can control teens' talk time, text messages, instant messages, and Web content and downloads. If you've been reading this blog or have read Totally Wired, you know I'm not a huge fan of better parenting through technology. I can see how this might be helpful, especially with younger teens, but I still believe nothing replaces having a conversation about all of the issues "Smart Limits" attempts to address for you. The goal is to help teens become responsible adults -- they're not going to buy their first cell phone with all of these limits. It's more valuable to teach teens discipline and self control then to program it into their phones.