A record high 36.5 Billion text messages are predicted to be sent this year in the UK according to the BBC. Let me spell that out: THIRTY-SIX POINT FIVE BILLION! or 36,500,000,000! Person-to-person text messages averaged 106 Million each day in May this year, up 26% on last year’s figures. Big events seem to transform fingers to text pushing prods the most, with more than 120 Million texts sent on the FA Cup Final and almost 125 Million sent on the Champions League Final day.
It is one of the greatest cultural differences that I have witnessed since moving to the United States from Europe this year. You rarely see anyone in the US texting. I suppose that’s why the US ranks 3rd in the world for SMS text usage, behind Asia and Europe respectively. For some interesting facts about the history of Mobile/SMS and its current use in in the world, read SMS Messaging: How is your Text Life?
