We don’t know how to tell people that something is funny in three letters without texting (LOL). We don’t have a quick way of expressing frustration (SMH), nor do we live in a world where most emotions are boiled down to a single emotive image like 😉.
The technology, Short Message Service or SMS, all started 30 years ago today (December 3) with the 16-character message “Merry Christmas.” by Neil Papworth, a programer working on mobile messaging technology member. But it was almost another decade before text messages and emojis (combinations of characters instead of simple facial expressions, like 😛 ) took over society.
I think it’s fair to say that we can thank Blackberry for the widespread adoption of SMS. Millennials and their idols (oh hey, paris hilton (opens in a new tab)) carry their Blackberries and other physical keyboard-sporting feature phones with them like a talisman.
While the iPhone didn’t play a role in the early adoption of SMS culture, it (and Android phones) helped drive the shift from a primarily text-based SMS culture to one replete with graphic emoji.
Now, three decades later, SMS text messaging has forever changed the way humans communicate.A recent study marking the 30th anniversary of the first SMS information bip (opens in a new tab)reveals some interesting details about how SMS has changed our lives. (Note that the survey is only accessible in the US, but we’ve highlighted key findings below.)
˚o˚’!
The phone is almost dead. The survey of 1,000 US consumers found that only 24% still prefer voice calls over communicating via SMS and other messaging agents such as WhatsApp and instant messaging (41%). Naturally, young people are more reluctant to answer the phone. 53% of the original texting generation (Millennials) prefer texting, and 48% of GenZers feel the same way. If you’ve ever wondered why kids don’t call anymore, here’s your answer; however, you’re almost guaranteed to get a text on your birthday.
Whenever I go for a drive, I notice all the people who engage in one of the most dangerous habits on the planet: texting and driving. You cannot blame SMS for this heinous practice. SMS is designed for phones with simple, small screens that are difficult to read while you’re driving a vehicle. Big-screen, high-resolution phones make it easy to glance down, read a paragraph, and quickly tap a reply as you sprint into the car in front of you.
Infobip’s survey found that a staggering 52% of millennials admit to texting and driving. Maybe for SMS’s birthday, someone will develop an OS-level automatic lock that makes texting in the car impossible, at least not for the driver. No, I don’t know how, but it’s worth considering.
Convex (¬‿¬)
The near ubiquity of text messaging is the legacy of SMS. We text:
- Meeting
- funeral
- when using the bathroom
- when we have nothing to do
- 45% of respondents admitted to texting after drinking and regretted it.
Texting is also the language of love. We meet on dating apps and measure the success of our first dates by when our date texts us. The whole concept of “ghosting” came from text messages. More than a quarter of men reported being dumped by text messages (compared to just under 19% of women). It’s amazing how much romance, happiness, and sadness are tied to this technology.
Text messaging technology has evolved to the point where it can spark anticipation. If you send someone an important message, you’ll usually be staring at the screen waiting for them to text back. Now, of course, you can see when they start typing and when they stop typing—it’s a roller coaster of emotions.
°͜ʖ͡°
It’s only natural that something so ingrained in our culture will also serve as a forum for one of the most fundamental human activities – 63% of millennials report sexting, and perhaps to reduce embarrassment, people adopt relatively benign emojis as Stand-ins for body parts and sexuality.
One could argue that text messaging has a bigger impact on our lives than smartphones and social media. Sure, we’re always on our phones, and there’s a lot of drama on social media, but what do we do with our phones the most? When you want to communicate with your friends, family or loved ones, you text them, don’t you?
Happy 30 text messages. I think we’re stuck with you.
