by Without SMS, we wouldn’t know how to tell people in three letters that something is loudly funny (LOL). We wouldn’t have a quick way to convey dismay (SMH) and we wouldn’t live in a world where most emotions are reduced to a single, emotional image like 😉.
The technology, Short Message Service or SMS, all started with a 16-character message, “Merry Christmas,” sent 30 years ago today (December 3) by Neil Papworth, a programmer working on mobile messaging technology . But it would be nearly another decade before texting and emoticons (character combinations replacing pithy facial expressions like :-P) would sweep through society.
I think it’s fair to say that we have Blackberry to thank for the widespread adoption of SMS. Millennials and their idols (oh, hey, Paris Hilton (opens in new tab)) carried around their BlackBerries and other physical keyboard feature phones like talismans.
While the iPhone played no part in the early adoption of SMS culture, it (and Android phones) helped drive the transformation from a largely text-based SMS culture to one interspersed with graphic emojis.
Now, three decades later, SMS has forever changed the way people communicate. A recent study to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Infobip’s first SMS (opens in new tab)discovered some fascinating details about how SMS has transformed our lives. (Note that the survey is only accessible in the US, but we’ve highlighted the key findings below.)
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Phone calls are as good as dead. The survey of 1,000 US consumers revealed that only 24% still prefer voice calls to communication via SMS and other SMS proxies such as WhatsApp and instant messaging (41%). Of course, younger people are even less likely to take calls. 53% of the original texting generation, Millennials, would rather text, and 48% of GenZers feel the same way. If you’re wondering why the kids never call again, here’s your answer; However, you are guaranteed to receive an SMS on your birthday.
Whenever I take a drive, I notice all the people engaging in one of the most dangerous habits in the world: texting and driving. You cannot blame SMS for this despicable practice. SMS was designed for phones with simple, small screens that are difficult to read while operating a vehicle. Big, high-resolution phones have made it all too easy to look down, read a text, and then quickly type in an answer while plowing into the car in front of you.
Infobip’s survey found that an alarming 52% of millennials admit to texting and driving. Perhaps for the birthday of texting, someone will develop an OS-level automatic lock that will make texting in the car impossible, at least by drivers. No, I don’t know how, but it’s worth thinking about.
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Texting almost everywhere is a legacy of SMS. We write during:
- To meet
- funerals
- When using the bathroom
- When we have nothing else to do
- 45% of respondents admitted to texting while drunk and regretted it.
SMS SMS is also the language of love. We meet on dating apps and then measure the success of that first date by how quickly our date texted us. The whole concept of “ghosting” comes from SMS messaging. More than a quarter of men reported being dropped for texting (and nearly 19% of women). It’s amazing how much romance, happiness and sadness is associated with this technology.
SMS technology is so advanced that it can spark anticipation. When you text someone something important, you usually stare at your screen and wait for them to text back. Now, of course, you can see when they started typing and when they stopped – it’s a rollercoaster of emotions.
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It’s only natural that something so ingrained in our culture would also become a forum for one of the most basic human activities — 63% of millennials said they sext, and perhaps to make it less awkward make, people adopted relatively harmless emojis as proxies for body parts and sexual acts.
One could argue that SMS text messaging has had a bigger impact on our lives than smartphones and social media. Sure, we’re always on the phone and there’s a lot of drama on social media, but what do we do most with our phones? If you want to communicate with friends, family or lover, text them, right?
Happy 30th SMS. I guess we’re stuck with you.
