South Florida mothers say cell phone chats with their teens throughout the day enhance their relationships, but not always.
“I'm one of those random good teenagers in the world who calls their mom. I call her constantly just to tell her what's going on,” said 16-year-old Kim Berkowitz.
Her mother, Sheri, acknowledges that cell phones have opened up the lines of communication for them.
“We are so lucky we get along so great. In some ways cell phones have made it even better by keeping the lines of communications open. And even when she's upset, she will be more open than when we are face to face,” said Sheri Berkowitz.
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There is a study published online in the journal "Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.” Called No Crossed Wires, it analyzed questionnaires from 196 pairs of teens and parents about calls to one another and their impact.
The study finds teens that call their parents for guidance or support report better relationships. However, parents who initiate calls to monitor, track school work or call when they are upset were associated with increased conflict. Both teens and parents said they felt worse about themselves when the parents angrily called them.
“Our relationship is good I guess. Mom-son you know,” said 17-year-old Adrian Isalque. “Other than that it's a good relationship.”
When asked about their relationship with her mother, while at the Shops of Pembroke Gardens, one 18-year-old girl said she wouldn’t really call her mother just to chat.
"It's reliable and a way to get in contact right away," said her mother. "But on the other hand, it could be too much leisure, so we had to take it away for a while."
