I read an article by Katherine Rosman in the Wall Street Journal last month that basically stated how we want to reach others, but do not want to be interrupted. According to the Nielsen Company, for anyone who doubts that the texting revolution is upon us, ponder over the fact that the average 13 - 17 year old sends and receives 3,339 texts per month. Can you believe that's roughly 100 per day? And hold on to your hats because adults are catching up...ages 45 - 54 sent and received 323 texts a month in the 2nd Quarter of 2010. That was up 75% from a year ago.
Behind the texting explosion there seems to be a fundamental shift in how we view our mobile devices. The fact that they are phones has become a moot point. Popular social media sites like Twitter are part of this catalyst because it allows postings of no more than 140 characters that create and reinforce the habit of communicating in microbursts. In addition, texting actually costs less than making phone calls since text messages - also known as SMS (Short Message Service) take up less bandwidth than phone calls.
Since purchasing my first iPhone over a year ago, I am now included in these statistics. I'm guilty of no longer picking up the phone to chat because I allow my fingers to do my talking. But please don't ask me about texting while driving because I will have to "Plead the 5th". LOL
Ciao,
Vinnie
