32 Facts You Didn't Know About SMS

May 27, 2013 10:30 am Published by

If you’re using the text messaging function of your phone almost every day, then you are part of the 3.7 Billions people in the World who are using SMS as a way to contact their friends, family and customers.

The SMS technology is 21-year old and if you think you know everything you need to know about it, think again!

Below are 32 surprising facts about text messaging, enjoy!

Fact #1: 56% of college students received sexually suggestive images via text messaging. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #2: 22% of smartphone users state that they cannot live without texting. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #3: There are 119 mobile phone contracts per 100 Irish inhabitants. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #4: 78% of college students received suggestive messages. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #5: In 2013, global SMS revenue is forecast to break the $150 billion mark for the first time and will continue to grow. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #6: There is an anti-smartphone called John’s Phone which can only make and receive calls. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #7: 75% of people prefer to receive offers over any other form of call to action. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #8: It’s Neil Papworth of Sema Group who sent the first SMS message over in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1992. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #9: In 2003, the entire United States sent 300 Millions SMS. In 2011, in just one day, american people sent 2 Billions SMS. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #10: 4000: the number of SMS messages a smartphone owner between 18 and 24 year-old receives per month. – Tweet This! – (source)

LoL-text-messageFact #11: “LOL” (Laughing Out Loud) has been added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2011. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #12: A researcher determined that the average sentence contained 160 characters: this is why a SMS has a 160-character limit. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #13: The Telecom Industry earns an astonishing 114.6$ Billion a year thanks to text messaging. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #14: 77% of adults state that they are able to text and drive. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #15: The first SMS sent was “MERRY CHRISTMAS”. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #16: The record of the fastest text message on a touchscreen phone is 25.94 seconds. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #17: 17% of college students who have received a “sext” have forwarded it to other mates. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #18: Ireland is among the highest-ranking countries when it comes to texting, sending 2,700 messages per inhabitant in 2009. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #19: The inventor of SMS didn’t patent his invention because he didn’t think it was “a patentable innovation”. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #20: Initially, text messaging was built for companies who wanted to send internal messages, but it didn’t work. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #21: Studies show that texting while driving slows reaction time to that of a 70-year old. – Tweet This! – (source)

Texting-while-driving

Fact #22: The weight of 160-character text message is 140 bytes. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #23: 24% of under 25-year old people think texting is acceptable while using the bathroom. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #24: It is legal to divorce by sending a text to your partner in Malaysia. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #25: Every year, 200’000 car crashes occur because of text messaging. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #26: You are 23 times more likely to have a car accident if you are texting. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #27: Twitter was inspired by SMS. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #28: Text messaging is the last resort for crisis communications: they don’t rely on voice channels for transmission. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #29: There are 3.7 Billions SMS Users in the World. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #30: In 2001, the United Kingdom organised a Text Poetry Competition. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #31: The Old Nokia Text Message Tone is the morse code for “SMS”. – Tweet This! – (source)

Fact #32: 10% of under 25-year old people think texting is acceptable while having sex. – Tweet This! – (source)

Did any of these SMS statistics surprise you ? Do you have other facts about text messaging that you would like to share with us ?

Let us know in the comments!

Image references:

Louis Grenier



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