Hate on the kiddies and their SMS speak all you want, but text messaging is taking off among the masses. AT&T has released data from two studies it recently commissioned, showing that both families and romantic partners are using SMS more and more to communicate. Parents think texting with their kids makes them cool, while lovestruck texters are finding themselves using SMS to flirt and send romantic notes.
We'll start with the families. AT&T conducted 1,048 online interviews with parents and 1,022 online interviews with children and young adults to get a feel for their usage patterns. They found that 76 percent of parents feel that their children are more likely to keep them abreast of their activities through text messaging than other methods. 73 percent said that their kids were more likely to respond to a text message than other methods of communication, and a full half of parents feel that texting with their kids makes them "cool."
Kids, of course, love text messaging. Large majorities feel that it's easier to communicate with friends this way and keep their parents up-to-date on their activities (84 percent and 82 percent, respectively). 48 percent of kids said that texting was a better use of their time than calling. I'll be honest: I wish my parents would text me too.
"Texting is sometimes the easiest way to keep track of my kids," stated mother Janet Sturley. "They're so much more likely to respond quickly to a text message, and it's the most convenient and inexpensive way to keep tabs on them. I've become extremely fluent in the language of text."
The same apparently applies when it comes to relationships. AT&T surveyed a thousand adults between the ages of 18 and 55 and found that 68 percent had sent a "love note" via text message. Another 67 percent used SMS to flirt, while 52 percent said that "thinking of you" was the most common text message to receive from a spouse. The very early stages of dating benefited from text messaging too, with just over a quarter of respondents saying that they'd be more willing to accept a first date if they exchanged texts first, and over half of the group had shown a text from a suitor to someone else in order to get their interpretation of the message. That's apparently not a bad move, since 84 percent said that text messages could be misunderstood by a date or suitor.
Of course, AT&T has a commercial motive to publish these results, since the company peddles text messaging plans with all of its cellular voice packages. However, with an increasing number of services using SMS, it's no surprise that people are texting more, including to the ones they love.
- Found via mocoNews: Text Messages Increasingly Used By Families And By Those Who Date: Report