Text Messaging Turns 20

(CNN) -- It's been hailed for its succinctness and blamed for everything
from sore thumbs to the decline of conversation. Love it or hate it,
the text message is 20 years old.

The first-ever text message was
sent December 3, 1992, by software engineer Neil Papworth, to Vodafone
director Richard Jarvis, who received the message on his husky Orbitel
901 cell phone. It read simply, "Merry Christmas."

As of Monday,
the text is no longer in its teens -- the age group it's probably most
associated with. In fact, it's more of a senior citizen in technology
years.

At just 190 bytes and 160 characters, the modest text
message isn't the most glamorous or elaborate form of communication, and
that's a major reason it's become so pervasive.

Texting is
popular around the world, across age groups and cultures, because it is
simple, concise, and compatible with every mobile device, whether it's a
$500 smartphone or a disposable flip phone.

Six billion SMS
(short message service) messages are sent every day in the United
States, according to Forrester Research, and over 2.2 trillion are sent a
year. Globally, 8.6 trillion text messages are sent each year,
according to Portio Research.

It seems tacky to bring this up on
its birthday, but this may also be the year the text message peaks.
After two decades of constant growth, text messaging is finally slowing
down as people move to smartphones and use third-party messaging tools
to circumvent wireless carriers' costly per-text charges.

SMS
messaging is expected to be a $150 billion-a-year industry in 2013, with
carriers charging set monthly fees for unlimited texting, or as much as
20 cents per text. The actual cost to carriers for sending a text
message is about 0.03 cents.

By using popular apps and services,
including Apple's iMessage, Facebook messages, GroupMe and WhatsApp,
smartphone users can send all the texts they want over Wi-Fi or cellular
networks without paying per message. But smartphones still only account
for 50% of all cell phones, so text messaging is likely to be around
for years to come.

Since a birthday is a day of celebration, LOLs and HBDs, let's take a look at some fascinating text messaging trivia.

•
In the United States, 75% of teenagers text, sending an average of 60
texts a day. According to Pew Internet research, texting is teens' most
common form of communication, beating out phone conversations, social
networks and old-fashioned face-to-face conversations.

• Women
are twice as likely to use emoticons in text messages, but men use a
wider variety of emoticons, according to a recent study by Rice
University. :-)

• The practice of exchanging sexual messages or
photos (yes, "sexting") isn't just for single people and politicians.
It's also popular among committed couples. According to a study by
psychology professor Michelle Drouin, 80% of young adults in
relationships sent or received naughty texts, and 60% upped the ante by
exchanging photos or videos.

• Some emergency response call
centers are beginning to accept text messages sent to 911. There are
still lingering concerns about the practice, including lack of location
information, confirmation that the message was received, and timeliness
of messages. Verizon plans to launch limited SMS-to-911 services in
early 2013.

• The world of competitive texting can be lucrative
for the fastest thumbs. At this year's fifth annual National Texting
Championship in New York City, 17-year-old Austin Wierschke was crowned
the winner for the second year in a row, taking home $50,000 in prize
money.

• According to Guinness World Records, Melissa Thompson
set the record for fastest text. In 2010, she took 25.94 seconds to type
and send, "The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and
Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In
reality they seldom attack a human."

• Text messages have a
dangerous side. Texting while driving is a risky activity, and sending
or reading a single text can distract a driver for approximately 4.6
seconds, according to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
Thirty-nine states have banned text messaging while driving. Distracted
texters have also been injured or killed while biking and walking.

•
Text messaging technology has popped up in some fascinating places over
the years, including cows' reproductive organs. Swiss dairy farmers
have implanted sensors in cows to detect when the cows are in heat. A
second sensor with a SIM card in the cow's neck sends a text message to
the farmer, who can then inseminate the animal, according to The New
York Times.

• Text messaging has been used in medical fields to improve treatment for malaria, depression, diabetes and addiction.
Text Messaging Turns 20

Posted: Monday, December 3 2012, 05:19 PM CST