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Wednesday, August 31, 2011

TXT > Talk

A study proves what most of us already know: Americans are texting more than they are talking. J.D. Power & Associates' 2011 Wireless Network Quality Performance Study found that Americans send nearly 600 text messages a month, and only talk about 450 minutes - down 77 minutes. Some suggest this may be due to poor reception and dropped calls, but I don't think that's the issue.

Texting - SMS and IM - is more direct, and it takes some of the social pressures off of communicating. Sharing a quick observation or anecdote is really all you want to do most of the time, and you don't want to place a phonecall and face the etiquette involved just to do so; SMS allows you to end a conversation quickly without all the niceties a phonecall involves. It also allows you to pick-up a conversation or change topic at any time. There's also a fun factor involved - SMS is kind of like passing notes in class.

The study found that Americans send almost 600 text messages per month. And while dropped calls and poor reception may be part of the problem, many wireless carriers are pushing unlimited texting plans as sites like GroupMe open-up SMS to computer users as well.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

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