500% rise in texts to Childline service

THERE has been a staggering 500% increase in the number of teenagers engaging in live text conversations with the ISPCC’s Childline Online service, new figures show.

Teenagers aged 13 to 17 had 13,666 individual conversations using Childline Online’s TEENTXT service last year, compared to 2,704 in 2008.

Some of the live text conversations would involve the sending of around 15 to 20 text messages over a two-hour period.