Concerns that teenagers' ongoing love affair with the abbreviated language of texting, would cost them dearly in writing skills has been proven unfounded. A survey comparing the test papers of sixteen year olds over the past 25 years found that teenagers today have unparalleled writing abilities.

Cambridge University, which carried out the study, compared English language exam papers sat by 16-year-olds from 1980 up until 2004. It found that today's teens use more complex sentence structure and a wider vocabulary than previous generations and were more accurate in their usage of capital letters, punctuation and spelling.

Texting has had some effect on teenage writing skills - 16-year-olds are now more likely to use text shorthand in written exams such as m8 (mate) and u.

• Ask Our Experts: Mobile Bills Are Out Of Hand!
  
• What Our Members Are Discussing Today
  
• This Week's News