Last week Professor Drake lectured about language and its origins. This got me to think of how I use language everyday. I feel that texting takes up about 50% of my language per day. It seems pretty ridiculous but it is the easiest way to contact somebody without verbally speaking to them. This got me to look into text messaging and how it evolved.
The first text message was officially sent, back in 1989, by a man who used a Motorola beeper. The recipient received the message as upside down numbers that could be interpreted as words. Texting was not very popular for a couple years with only 0.4 messages sent on average per month per customer in 1995. Most companies did not know how to bill text messages so this slowed the progression of the new technology. Many phones now offer a new form of text messaging called SMS. SMS stands for short messaging service. SMS is now offered with most smart phones and is used on the 3G network.
Text messaging has become the most widely used mobile data service. Approximately 74% of mobile phone users use text messaging today. In the UK, about 50 million text messages are sent everyday. This proves that text messaging has become a very serious means of communication and we should all embrace the new technology.
And not only has text messaging become one of the most popular means of casual communication today, but it's also imperative for the survival of global business. Global business will eventually be phased out as a term, since it'll become redundant once every business operates globally (they all do on some level!).
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way! I text probably just as much as I talk to anyone. It is just so easy to do to get in touch with someone. I think its amazing that 50 million text messages are sent everyday in the UK. I never thought that it was used that much throughout the world.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love texting. I text so much that sometimes I catch myself using text language while typing my papers. Now that phones are created with the keyboard, this makes texting even more convenient. I still fail to believe that I text as much as my phone bill displays!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting article. The text messaging is very useful in my life. The suitable words will not be told to other people at any time at any place if I suddenly memorize and want to say, so I need it. I love text messaging. I believe that it makes my life convenient. The text messaging is widely used in the world, I can see people press their words and send to anybody.
ReplyDeleteI think texting has taken over a lot of teens and young adults lives. I don't think I have single friend that doesn't have texting on their cell phone. That's all I ever see people do these days is text messaging.
ReplyDeleteTexting is definitely a good form of communication, but I feel like it takes out the human feel of language. Whenever I text somebody trying to kind of joke around and I read it myself I feel like the other person is not getting the same expression out of it. To solve this problem, you just call the person and you can actually hear their voice, but even then I like to see the person IN PERSON. I bad mouth it even though I use it myself. In the end, it's a very useful technology.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprised by to hear those kind of numbers about how often people text message. My phone plan gives me unlimited text messaging and limited minutes so I text frequently. What is interesting is the different kind of language used for texting vs. speaking. When people text, they use shortened or abbreviated words to get their point across. As we looked at the evolution of language in class it is fascinating to think just how much it has changed since it originated.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate texting just as much as the next person, it is great to use because of its ease and efficiency. However, texting has its downsides as well. It was stated in Jeff's blog that 74% of mobile users use texting. This will only rise as more and more young people begin to phase out those who prefer to use the telephone in the traditional way. The downside to this is the de-socialization and impersonalization of society. Also, texting is the same as a paper trail. It is extremely easy to pull text records, and I can see a lot of people falling hard because of this in the future. Hopefully with the rise in texting, awareness of its pros and cons will raise as well.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of poeple texting keeps increasing and more people I know are strating to prefer texting over calling. I found it kinda surprizing the first time that I got a text from my dad. With this silent way to communicate there really is not many places that people stop texting. We all know that everyone texts during class, not saying it should be done. I was shocked to see people continue to text through movies. that seemed a little rude. texting clearly has its perks and its negatives
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