More than 70 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds own a cell phone, according to a study published this month by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

As a point of comparison, the survey — conducted in 2008 — noted that 77 percent of all adults interviewed in 2008 were cell phone owners. Teen cell phone use also has increased significantly since 2004, when only 45 percent of teens said they had a mobile phone.

They survey also found that in addition to calling friends, 76 percent of the teens use their phones to send text messages. Girls are more likely than boys to send and receive text messages. Same goes for teens ages 15 to 17.

Last month, Spokane Public Schools joined a long list of school districts (including Central, East Valley and Coeur d’Alene) that enacted policies to ban cell phone use at school except during lunch breaks.

According to a July story published in The Spokesman-Review, students who disregard the cell phone rule will get their phones taken away and only a parent or guardian can get them back.

What do you think about banning cell phones at school? Do you have rules in your household about cell phone use? How old was your child when he or she first got a phone?