According to the Nielsen Mobile survey, Americans cell phone users are texting more than they’re making phone calls. The study looked at the second quarter of 2008 and found that US cell phone subscribers sent and received an average of 204 phone calls a month, as compared to an average of 357 text messages.

That number is a whopping 450 percent increase over a similar report from the first quarter of 2006, where cell phone users only sent an average of 65 messages. The number of phone calls however has remained at a relatively stable number for the past few years.

According to the wireless industry trade association cell phone users sent a whopping 75 billion text messages in just the month of June this year, compared to only 28.8 billion messages at the same time last year.

I know I for one have become pretty addicted to texting over the past few years. When texting first started showing up on cell phones I can remember being exceptionally annoyed when people would text me something they could have just picked up the phone and said. Text after all cost $.20, where as a phone call was more or less free. Now I find myself doing the same thing, texting grocery lists, directions to events, dinner invitations…I would rather send a text than make a phone call.

There are also quite a few services available now that send you text messages. I get discount codes from a few of my favorite places to shop sent to my phone, as well as alerts of sports teams, and news items. Sites like ChaCha has started popping up as well that allow you to text any question you might have, and then get another text in return with the answer. It’s not surprising with all that, that the number has grown so drastically.

So, do you send 357 text messages a month? More? Less? What do you use texting for?

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Entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 9:52 am under Cell phones, Technology.

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