Nielsen
recently reported that as of Q2 2008, mobile subscribers sent or received an average of 357 text messages per
month, compared
with placing 204 phone calls. That’s not to say that a good old fashioned phone call has become less popular—that average
has stayed
fairly consistent over the past two years (from 216, on average, in Q2 2006)—but the average number of text messages sent
or received
has increased 351 percent, from 79 text messages sent or received, on average, in Q2 2006. (See Table 1.)
Demographically speaking, teenagers average the greatest number of text messages sent or received, at 1,742 messages
per month in Q2 2008. Still, even a typical U.S. mobile subscriber between the ages of 35 and 44 will now send
or receive more text messages, on average, than make phone calls. (See Table 2.)
This goes to say that text messaging has embedded itself in the American communication lifestyle. For that matter,
Texting has been an important part of the mobile experience internationally
as well. Nielsen’s most recent estimates for text message use in 12 countries show that, while 53 percent of
American mobile subscribers send text messages each month, Texting is even
more ubiquitous in countries such as Italy and China. (See Table 3.)
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