ILLUSTRATED BY GABRIELA ALFORD.The humble text message’s days could be numbered. Last year, for the first time ever, there was a dip in the number of SMS messages sent.
According to The Independent, Deloitte reports that 145 billion text messages were sent in the U.K. in 2013, compared to the 152 billion missives sent the previous year. The auditing firm notes a massive rise in the use of Internet-connected services, with 160 billion messages sent in 2013, up significantly from 57 billion the previous year. Not so surprising, when you consider the trendiness of apps like Whatsapp and Snapchat.
While text messages may be less popular than the newer, shinier apps, they outperform them in revenue. Many of these start-ups, including Snapchat, have yet to make a cent from their product. Deloitte even predicts that in 2014, text messaging will generate $100 billion, which is 50 times the amount its instant-messaging cousins will achieve.
While we couldn’t function without instant messenger or Whatsapp to stay connected with our friends and coworkers, there is one aspect of this situation that we are praying hoping to see: the dissolution of text speak. It just kills us. We want to make sure the correct use of Oxford commas, semicolons, and all that grammatical good stuff continues for generations to come. But, what do you think? Let us know in the comments section below. (The Independent)