Texting

The first text message was sent in December 1992, saying “Merry Christmas.” Since then, the worldwide use of text messaging, or short messaging service, has increased at a dramatic pace as more people gained access to mobile phones and used [Page 858]them to exchange these electronic messages. By 2010, many developed countries reached a “saturation point:” There were as many (or more) cell phone subscriptions as there were people. By 2016, worldwide saturation had reached nearly 98%. The rapid growth of phone ownership has stabilized in developed countries, but acceleration continues in developing nations, a pattern predicted to continue until about 2020. Cell phone use is not confined to adolescents and adults, as children of increasingly younger ages have begun to access these devices. This ...