According to the findings of a survey by Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, more than three-fourths of teenagers now own a cellphone and use it for accessing the Facebook social networking site as well as some supposedly `cool' apps like Snapchat and Kik Messenger.

With the use of Facebook by teenagers requiring parents' permission, especially for the under-age users, the findings of the Pew survey have revealed that an increasing number of teenagers are now turning to Instagram, Snapchat and Kik Messenger, which they feel are much cooler after-party apps.

While the Instagram photo-sharing service is one of the most popular mobile apps used by teenagers, Snapchat is one of the `top 10' free iPhone apps, which the media describes as a `sexting' app that allows users to send a text, photo or video that self-destructs in 10 seconds after opening.

The Kik Messenger app - which can run on an iPod Touch or Kindle Fire - also allows unlimited texting for free, and it also offers the additional advantage of `anonymity' to its users by allowing them to use vague names to conceal their identity.

About the widespread use of social networks and other popular mobile apps by teenagers, educators have disclosed that they have seen teenagers use their mobile devices for all kinds of activities, including the circulation of online videos of school drug searches to male students, and even the sharing of nude pictures of their girlfriends.