American Notes Teenagers

For teenagers in 25 cities from Los Angeles to Miami, a ten-month-old telephone service known as Scoopline has provided an updated version of the old party line. By dialing a special number, teens can hook into conversations with as many as ten other anonymous callers. Operated by a Los Angeles company called Ultraphone, the service has been a boon to youngsters with a good voice and a gift of gab.

But the anonymity soon attracted oddballs. A father in New Mexico came home to find his 13-year-old daughter being visited by a 26-year-old man who had posed as a teen on the phone. The stranger brought his own bottle. Two Albuquerque callers used Scoopline to arrange a drug purchase. Profanity became common on the network; sexual propositions were offered. Eavesdropping parents and some teenagers complained to the telephone companies.

Then came the bills. One youngster was so hooked on Scoopline that he ran up $7,000 worth of charges in two months. Mountain Bell last month suspended the service in Utah until Ultraphone agreed to warn all callers about the fees as they rang on. Two weeks ago Mountain Bell canceled Scoopline in Albuquerque. Ultraphone has offered to provide a 24-hour adult monitor to police the chatter, a solution that seems to be working in Utah. Insists Betsy Superfon, vice president of Ultraphone: "Scoopline is a great way for people to meet new friends." But for youngsters in New Mexico the party is over -- at least for now.