The secret diary of a mobile phone addict, aged 16 1/4

They may be a health hazard; they may not be a health hazard. But for at least one teenager, a mobile phone isn't just an accessory - it's a way of life

Once upon a time, when you were ready for your mum to pick you up from the swimming baths, you simply went to the phone box and let the phone ring twice before hanging up. Your mother would be waiting for the signal, and you saved yourself the cost of the call - the princely sum of 2p - which you would spend on a couple of Bazookas.

Once upon a time, when you were ready for your mum to pick you up from the swimming baths, you simply went to the phone box and let the phone ring twice before hanging up. Your mother would be waiting for the signal, and you saved yourself the cost of the call - the princely sum of 2p - which you would spend on a couple of Bazookas.

Today, you are more likely to see a teenager in church than using a public phone. Children these days seem to be born with mobiles in their hand, a fashion made all the more conspicuous by their habit of emitting ghastly electronic tunes when you've nodded off on the train.

Teenage phone freaks don't come much more committed that Morgen Weaver, 16, from London, who professes to ''feeling naked'' without one.

Her father, a mini-cab driver, made the fatal mistake of buying her a £10 handset in November last year, after months of constant badgering. ''All my friends had one; I was the odd one out. They were all calling and texting each other and playing games,'' she says.

By then, her love-affair with telecommunication had already driven her mother to having a second line installed in the teenager's bedroom. ''I was sick and tired of my calls going through to my mum, and she was bored of answering them, and having her line clogged up by my friends. It was a birthday present,'' says Morgen. ''It makes me sound really spoilt but I'm not. I had to get a mobile because I obviously couldn't take it around with me.''

The second mistake Morgen's father may feel he made was to offer to pay for the calls his daughter made on her new mobile. The first monthly bill was £120. He ''went absolutely ballistic'' and, in a move that will hearten many, made his daughter pay half.

But Morgen is undaunted. ''My life has changed drastically since I had my mobile. I'm constantly on the phone to my friends, sending them messages, and I play games during lessons when I'm bored. Practically everyone at school has got one. There's always competition to have the latest one out, so everyone is constantly upgrading. They're banned if they make a noise, so we turn the volume off in lessons (which doesn't stop us texting each other), and then we turn them up at break."

Morgen is unmoved at the health risks associated with the phones. Every school in England has been sent advice from the Government discouraging pupils under 16 from using them, other than in emergencies. Experts believe children aged 15 and under are likely to be more vulnerable because their nervous systems are still developing. And, because of their smaller heads, thinner skulls and higher tissue conductivity, children may absorb more energy from a mobile phone than adults do.

''I know they're bad for your health,'' says Morgen, ''but I can't afford to buy a hands-free attachment. And anyway, you keep getting mixed messages about how bad they really are.'' Morgen does, however, switch off her phone for a period every day - when she's asleep and it's recharging.

Keeping up with the buzz

Friday

9am Text-message my boyfriend good morning. 9.10am Go baby-sitting at Elizabeth's house (I'm helping look after her children in the holidays while she works); message my best friend, Alex, asking her when she's going on holiday. 9.15am She replies: she's off tomorrow. 9.20am Message her back, saying we should get together when she returns. 9.30am Alex replies; suggests we go to Chessington World of Adventures. 9.45am Phone Sophie, another friend, to ask when we can meet up tonight and get a pizza; get her answer machine. 9.50am Phone Natasha, a friend of Elizabeth's, to tell her that her children are OK (they're also with me at the moment). 10am Go to teach tennis at the local club; phone Natasha to talk about the thunder and lightning. 10.05am Natasha messages me back; says she's disappointed by the weather, too. 10.15am My mum calls; she's left the laundry out in the rain. 12noon Message my boyfriend, asking him to call me later. 12.03pm He messages back, asking where I am. 12.05pm I message back, saying I'm out having lunch at the chip shop. 1pm Mum phones to find out when I'm coming home. 1.15pm She phones again to say she's going out. Five minutes later she phones again, but I miss the call. 1.20pm I call her back; then I speak to dad about what I want for dinner. 4pm Message my boyfriend about tomorrow night - we're going to see The Perfect Storm. 5pm Alex messages me three times about what we should do when she gets back from holiday. 11.10pm Message my boyfriend to say goodnight. 11.15pm He messages "goodnight" back. 11.20pm Phone my dad (he doesn't live with us) to tell him a joke about zebras. 11.30pm Turn phone off.

Saturday

9.30am Alex messages me to say she's going on holiday today - though I'm not sure where. 10am I'm on my way to the tennis club when mum phones asking what time I'll be home. 12 noon Go to start a holiday job at the local swimming pool; phone mum to ask for my National Insurance number. 12.45pm Miss phone call from Elizabeth. Call her back to talk about what days she wants me next week. 2pm Phone my boyfriend, who's working at the health club; but he has to go because he's busy. 6pm Alex calls: we're now planning to have a feast when she gets back from holiday. 7.30pm Go baby-sitting. 12 m't Call my boyfriend and ask him to pick me up. 2am Get home; turn phone off.

Sunday

12 noon Dad phones to say he'll bring round the clean laundry (our washing machine has broken down). 1pm On my way to the swimming pool; dad calls twice to find out whether he can see me later today. 3pm Call mum to tell her what I want for dinner. 4pm Mum calls; she's visiting a friend in hospital and is going to be late home. 6.30pm Alex messages me from her holiday. I'm still not sure where she is - but she says she'll see me when she gets back. 8pm Go to see The Perfect Storm with my boyfriend, so switch off my phone.

Monday

9am Message boyfriend to say good morning. 9.30am Phone Natasha to find out if she needs me to look after her children this morning. 9.45am Go to tennis club. Alex messages me from her holiday asking if I have heard from Alice, a friend of ours who's having some trouble at home. 10am Mum phones to ask when I'll be home. 11.30am Natasha phones to see if I can find a Pokémon card her seven-year-old son dropped during his tennis lesson. Phone her back to say I've found it. 12 noon Phone my friend Lucy, to ask whether we can go out to dinner soon; no answer. 1.30pm Dad wakes up about 1pm, so I phone him now to see if he can pick up some more dirty laundry from us. 2pm Call my boyfriend for a chat; he asks me to call later. 3pm Went home and phone him back. 3.45pm Phone my friend Catherine, who has just come back from Corfu. She hasn't got any gossip yet as she's only been back a few hours. 9.30pm Go to bed and switch off phone.

Tuesday

8am My boyfriend drops me outside Elizabeth's house. She calls from the train station asking me to take her boys to tennis. 9am Phone osteopath to get an appointment for my bad back. 11am Phone mum for a chat. 11.30am Call my boyfriend to tell him I left my jumper at his house on Sunday night. 12noon Mum calls to say The Independent has rung to talk about the piece I'm doing. 2pm Pick up voicemail from The Indy. Go home. 2am Woken by two drunken phone calls from my boyfriend. He calls me names because I want to go to sleep, so I turn my phone off.

Wednesday

9am Two text messages from my boyfriend, from the night before. One says "I hate you", the other says "I'm sorry". He's joking, luckily. 10am Phone my mobile phone company to find out how much my bill is (it's about £40 a month). 10.30am Phone Natasha to find out where her children are. 11am A girl starts crying during tennis, so I phone her mother.

Thursday

8am Cycle over to Elizabeth's to babysit. I'm going to Canary Wharf in east London later today to be interviewed by The Independent. 10am Mum phones to say it's raining - she's worried I'll get wet getting to Canary Wharf. 11am Call a cab company. But then I decide to get a train instead. 12noon At Natasha's house. Call my mum to say I'm coming home to get some money and then going out again. 12.10pm Phone my friend Billie and ask her to meet me in Canary Wharf. 3pm On the Tube going home, I phone mum to say I'm going swimming later. 3.05pm She calls back to say she'll put my swimming bag together. 6pm Back home, I call my boyfriend to ask him what he's doing later. Nothing, he says; he's too tired. 11.30pm Go to bed.

Friday

10am At Elizabeth's again; phone mum to make sure she takes my bike to the repair shop. 2pm At Natasha's. Phone mum again because I feel sick. She tells me to come home. 5pm Back home. Osteopath calls to book an appointment. The rest of the day is quiet - my batteries were low. So I use my bedroom line instead...