Editing Text messaging (section)

== Social effects ==
The advent of text messaging made possible new forms of interaction that were not possible before. A person could carry out a conversation with another user without the constraint of being expected to reply within a short amount of time and without needing to set time aside to engage in conversation. With voice calling, both participants need to be free at the same time. Mobile phone users can maintain communication during situations in which a voice call is impractical, impossible, or unacceptable, such as during a school class or work meeting. Texting has provided a venue for [[participatory culture]], allowing viewers to vote in online and TV polls, as well as receive information while they are on the move. Texting can also bring people together and create a sense of community through "[[Smart mob|Smart Mobs]]" or "Net War", which create "people power".<ref name="Rheingold, Howard 2002"/>
Research in 2015 has also proven that text messaging is somehow making the social distances larger and could be ruining verbal communication skills for many people.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.extremology.com/2015/03/five-harmful-effect-of-mobile-phone-in-our-social-life.html|title=5 Negative Effects of Mobile Phone In Our Social Life|author=Shoeb Adnan|newspaper=Extremology |date=14 March 2015}}</ref>

=== Effect on language ===
{{Main|SMS language}}
[[File:SillyModernSociety.jpg|thumb|This sticker seen in Paris satirizes the popularity of communication in SMS shorthand. In French: "Is that you? / It's me! / Do you love me? / Shut up!".]]
The small [[telephone keypad|phone keypad]] and the rapidity of typical text message exchanges have caused a number of spelling abbreviations: as in the phrase "txt msg", "u" (an abbreviation for "you"), "HMU"("hit me up"; i.e., call me), or use of [[camel case]], such as in "ThisIsVeryLame". To avoid the even more limited message lengths allowed when using [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] or [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letters, speakers of languages written in those alphabets often use the [[Latin alphabet]] for their own [[language]]. In certain languages utilizing [[diacritic]] marks, such as Polish, SMS technology created an entire new variant of written language: characters normally written with diacritic marks (e.g., ''[[ą]]'', ''[[ę]]'', ''[[ś]]'', ''[[ż]]'' in Polish) are now being written without them (as ''a'', ''e'', ''s'', ''z'') to enable using cell phones without Polish [[Writing system|script]] or to save space in [[Unicode]] messages. Historically, this language developed out of shorthand used in [[bulletin board system]]s and later in Internet [[chat room]]s, where users would abbreviate some words to allow a response to be typed more quickly, though the amount of time saved was often inconsequential. However, this became much more pronounced in SMS, where mobile phone users either have a numeric keyboard (with older cellphones) or a small [[QWERTY]] keyboard (for 2010s-era smartphones), so more effort is required to type each character, and there is sometimes a limit on the number of characters that may be sent. In [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin Chinese]], numbers that sound similar to words are used in place of those words. For example, the numbers 520 in Chinese (''wǔ èr líng'') sound like the words for "I love you" (''wǒ ài nǐ''). The sequence 748 (''qī sì bā'') sounds like the curse "go to hell" (''qù sǐ ba'').

[[Predictive text]] software, which attempts to guess words ([[Tegic]]'s [[T9 (predictive text)|T9]] as well as [[iTap]]) or [[Letter (alphabet)|letters]] (Eatoni's [[LetterWise]]) reduces the labour of time-consuming input. This makes abbreviations not only less necessary but slower to type than regular words that are in the software's [[dictionary]]. However, it makes the messages longer, often requiring the text message to be sent in multiple parts and, therefore, costing more to send. The use of text messaging has changed the way that people talk and write essays, some<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/oconnor.htm|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613085439/http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/literacy/oconnor.htm|archive-date=13 June 2010|title=Instant Messaging: Friend or Foe of Student Writing? |publisher=Newhorizons.org |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> believing it to be harmful. Children today are receiving cell phones at an age as young as eight years old; more than 35 per cent of children in second and third grade have their own mobile phones. Because of this, the texting language is integrated into the way that students think from an earlier age than ever before.<ref>{{cite news|last=Boswell|first=Sean|title=Lost in Translation: Texting Killing Human Communication Skills|url=http://www.depauliaonline.com/opinions/lost-in-translation-texting-killing-human-communication-skills-1.2841429#.VhyeC3pVhBc#.UIBjbG_A-Xd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311111419/http://www.depauliaonline.com/opinions/lost-in-translation-texting-killing-human-communication-skills-1.2841429#.VhyeC3pVhBc#.UIBjbG_A-Xd|archive-date=11 March 2014|url-status=dead|newspaper=[[The DePaulia]]|access-date=18 October 2012}}</ref> In November 2006, New Zealand Qualifications Authority approved the move that allowed students of secondary schools to use mobile phone text language in the end-of-the-year-exam papers.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-11-13-text-speak_x.htm | work=USA Today | title=Officials: Students can use 'text speak' on tests | date=13 November 2006 | access-date=25 May 2010}}</ref> Highly publicized reports, beginning in 2002, of the use of text language in school assignments, caused some to become concerned that the quality of written communication is on the decline,<ref name="autogenerated1" /> and other reports claim that teachers and professors are beginning to have a hard time controlling the problem.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> However, the notion that text language is widespread or harmful is refuted by research from linguistic experts.<ref>{{cite news|author=Crace, John |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/sep/16/academicexperts.languages |date=16 September 2008|title=Gr8 db8r takes on linguistic Luddites: Language guru David Crystal tells John Crace that txt spk is responsible for neither bad spelling nor moral decay |work=The Guardian |location=UK |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

An article in ''[[The New Yorker]]'' explores how text messaging has [[Anglicisation|anglicized]] some of the world's languages. The use of [[diacritic]] marks is dropped in languages such as French, as well as symbols in [[Ethiopian Semitic languages|Ethiopian languages]]. In his book, ''[[Txtng: the Gr8 Db8]]'' (which translates as "Texting: the Great Debate"), [[David Crystal]] states that texters in all eleven languages use "lol" ("laughing out loud"), "u", "brb" ("be right back"), and "gr8" ("great"), all English-based shorthands. The use of pictograms and logograms in texts are present in every language. They shorten words by using symbols to represent the word or symbols whose name sounds like a syllable of the word such as in 2day or b4. This is commonly used in other languages as well. Crystal gives some examples in several languages such as Italian ''sei'', "six", is used for ''sei'', "you are". Example: dv6 = ''dove sei'' ("where are you") and French k7 = ''cassette'' ("cassette tape"). There is also the use of numeral sequences, substituting for several syllables of a word and creating whole phrases using numerals. For example, in French, a12c4 can be said as ''à un de ces quatres'', "see you around" (literally: "to one of these four ''[days]''"). An example of using symbols in texting and borrowing from English is the use of ''@''. Whenever it is used in texting, its intended use is with the English pronunciation. Crystal gives the example of the Welsh use of ''@'' in ''@F'', pronounced ataf, meaning "to me". In character-based languages such as Chinese and Japanese, numbers are assigned syllables based on the shortened form of the pronunciation of the number, sometimes the English pronunciation of the number. In this way, numbers alone can be used to communicate whole passages, such as in Chinese, "8807701314520" ({{lang|zh-Latn-pinyin|bào bao nǐ qīng qing nǐ yīshēng yìshì wǒ ài nǐ}}) can be literally translated as "Hug hug you, kiss you, whole life, whole life I love you." English influences worldwide texting in variation, but still in combination with the individual properties of languages.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pKBnEGwmtZoC&pg=PA131 |title=Txtng: the gr8 db8 |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2008 |pages=131–137 |isbn=978-0-19-162340-0}}</ref>

American [[popular culture]] is also recognized in shorthand. For example, [[Homer Simpson]] translates into: ~(_8^(|).<ref>''The New Yorker'' "Thumbspeak" Menand, Louis. 20 October 2008.</ref> Crystal also suggests that texting has led to more creativity in the English language, giving people opportunities to create their own slang, [[emoticon]]s, abbreviations, acronyms, etc. The feeling of individualism and freedom makes texting more popular and a more efficient way to communicate.<ref>Crystal, David: the gr8 db8. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.</ref> Crystal has also been quoted in saying that "In a logical world, text messaging should not have survived." But text messaging didn't just come out of nowhere. It originally began as a messaging system that would send out emergency information. But it gained immediate popularity with the public. What followed is the SMS we see today, which is a very quick and efficient way of sharing information from person to person. Work by [[Richard Ling]] has shown that texting has a gendered dimension and it plays into the development of teen identity.<ref>{{cite journal|title="Girls Text Really Weird": Gender, Texting and Identity Among Teens | doi=10.1080/17482798.2014.931290 | volume=8|issue=4 |journal=Journal of Children and Media|pages=423–439|date=2 October 2014 |last1=Ling |first1=Rich |last2=Baron |first2=Naomi S. |last3=Lenhart |first3=Amanda |last4=Campbell |first4=Scott W. | s2cid=143302111 }}</ref> In addition we text to a very small number of other persons. For most people, half of their texts go to 3 – 5 other people.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The socio-demographics of texting|journal=New Media & Society|volume=14|issue=2|pages=281–298|doi=10.1177/1461444811412711|year=2012|last1=Ling|first1=Rich|last2=Bertel|first2=Troels Fibæk|last3=Sundsøy|first3=Pål Roe|s2cid=41608163}}</ref>

Research by Rosen ''[[et al.]]'' (2009)<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1177/0093650210362465 |author=Rosen, L.D., Chang, J., Erwin, L., Carrier, L.M., & Cheever, N.A.|title=The Relationship Between "Textisms" and Formal and Informal Writing Among Young Adults|year=2010|journal=Communication Research|volume=37|issue=3|pages=420–440 |s2cid=46309911}}</ref> found that those young adults who used more language-based textisms (shortcuts such as LOL, 2nite, etc.) in daily writing produced worse formal writing than those young adults who used fewer linguistic textisms in daily writing. However, the exact opposite was true for informal writing. This suggests that perhaps the act of using textisms to shorten communication words leads young adults to produce more informal writing, which may then help them to be better "informal" writers. Due to text messaging, teens are writing more, and some teachers see that this comfort with language can be harnessed to make better writers. This new form of communication may be encouraging students to put their thoughts and feelings into words and this may be able to be used as a bridge, to get them more interested in formal writing.{{According to whom|date=November 2015}}

Joan H. Lee in her thesis, ''What does txting do 2 language: The influences of exposure to messaging and print media on acceptability constraints'' (2011),<ref>{{cite thesis|url=http://gradworks.umi.com/MR/75/MR75222.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120220031841/http://gradworks.umi.com/MR/75/MR75222.html|archive-date=20 February 2012|url-status=dead|title=What does txting do 2 language: The influences of exposure to messaging and print media on acceptability constraints|last=Lee|first=Joan Hwechong|author-link=Joan H. Lee|degree=MA|publisher=[[University of Calgary]]|date=2011|access-date=9 March 2012}}</ref> she associates exposure to text messaging with more rigid acceptability constraints. The thesis suggests that more exposure to the colloquial, [[Generation text|Generation Text]] language of text messaging contributes to being less accepting of words. In contrast, Lee found that students with more exposure to traditional print media (such as books and magazines) were more accepting of both real and fictitious words. The thesis, which garnered international media attention, also presents a [[literature review]] of [[Academic publishing|academic literature]] on the effects of text messaging on language. Texting has also been shown to have had no effect or some positive effects on [[literacy]]. According to Plester, Wood and Joshi and their research done on the study of 88 British 10–12-year-old children and their knowledge of text messages, "textisms are essentially forms of phonetic abbreviation" that show that "to produce and read such abbreviations arguably requires a level of phonological awareness (and orthographic awareness) in the child concerned".<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1348/026151008X320507| pmid = 19972666| title = Exploring the relationship between children's knowledge of text message abbreviations and school literacy outcomes| journal = British Journal of Developmental Psychology| volume = 27| issue = Pt 1| pages = 145–61| year = 2009| last1 = Plester | first1 = B. | last2 = Wood | first2 = C. | last3 = Joshi | first3 = P. }}</ref>

=== Texting while driving ===
{{Main|Texting while driving}}
[[File:Cell phone use while driving.jpg|thumb|right|A driver with attention divided between a mobile phone and the road ahead]]
Texting while driving leads to increased distraction behind the wheel and can lead to an increased risk of an accident. In 2006, [[Liberty Mutual Insurance Group]] conducted a survey with more than 900 teens from over 26 high schools nationwide. The results showed that 87% of students found texting to be "very" or "extremely" distracting.<ref>{{cite web|title=Teens Admit Text Messaging Most Distracting While Driving |url=http://www.libertymutualgroup.com/omapps/ContentServer?c=cms_asset&pagename=LMGroup%2FViews%2FlmgView98&cid=1138356953222&kw=true |publisher=[[Liberty Mutual Group]] |date=19 July 2007 |access-date=5 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081119232956/http://www.libertymutualgroup.com/omapps/ContentServer?cid=1138356953222&pagename=LMGroup%2FViews%2FlmgView98&kw=true&c=cms_asset |archive-date=19 November 2008 }}</ref> A study by [[American Automobile Association|AAA]] found that 46% of teens admitted to being distracted behind the wheel due to texting. One example of distraction behind the wheel is the [[2008 Chatsworth train collision]], which killed 25 passengers. The engineer had sent 45 text messages while operating the train.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} A 2009 experiment with ''[[Car and Driver]]'' editor Eddie Alterman (that took place at a deserted airfield, for safety reasons) compared texting with [[drunk driving]]. The experiment found that texting while driving was more dangerous than being drunk. While being legally drunk added 4 feet to Alterman's stopping distance while going {{Convert|70|mph|km/h|abbr=on}}, reading an e-mail on a phone added {{Convert|36|ft|m|abbr=}}, and sending a text message added {{Convert|70|ft|m|abbr=}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2009/06/25/texting-and-driving-worse-than-drinking-and-driving.html |title=Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving |website=CNBC |date=25 June 2009}}</ref>

In 2009, the [[Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University|Virginia Tech]] Transportation Institute released the results of an 18-month study that involved placing cameras inside the cabs of more than 100 long-haul trucks, which recorded the drivers over a combined driving distance of three million miles. The study concluded that when the drivers were texting, their risk of crashing was 23 times greater than when not texting.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/28texting.html |title=In Study, Texting Lifts Crash Risk by Large Margin |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 July 2009}}</ref>

=== Texting while walking ===
Due to the proliferation of smart phone applications performed while walking, "texting while walking" or "wexting" is the increasing practice of people being transfixed to their mobile device without looking in any direction but their personal screen while walking. First coined reference in 2015 in New York from Rentrak's chief client officer<ref>{{Cite web
| url = https://www.rentrak.com/downloads/exec_bios/RENTRAK_JeffBoehme-Bio.pdf
| title = Rentrak executive bios
| access-date = 29 February 2016
| archive-date = 31 March 2015
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150331024224/http://www.rentrak.com/downloads/exec_bios/RENTRAK_JeffBoehme-Bio.pdf
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> when discussing time spent with media and various media usage metrics. Text messaging among pedestrians leads to increased cognitive distraction and reduced situation awareness, and may lead to increases in unsafe behaviour leading to injury and death.<ref name="Lamberg">{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 22226937
| year = 2012
| last1 = Lamberg
| first1 = E. M.
| title = Cell phones change the way we walk
| journal = Gait & Posture
| volume = 35
| issue = 4
| pages = 688–90
| last2 = Muratori
| first2 = L. M.
| doi = 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2011.12.005
}}</ref><ref name="Licence2015" /> Recent studies conducted on cell phone use while walking showed that cell phone users recall fewer objects when conversing,<ref name="Nasar">{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 18215534
| year = 2008
| last1 = Nasar
| first1 = J
| title = Mobile telephones, distracted attention, and pedestrian safety
| journal = Accident Analysis & Prevention
| volume = 40
| issue = 1
| pages = 69–75
| last2 = Hecht
| first2 = P
| last3 = Wener
| first3 = R
| doi = 10.1016/j.aap.2007.04.005
}}</ref> walk slower,<ref name="Lamberg" /><ref name="Lopresti">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1002/acp.2846| title = Practicing Safe Text: The Impact of Texting on Walking Behavior| journal = Applied Cognitive Psychology| volume = 26| issue = 4| pages = 644–648| year = 2012| last1 = Lopresti-Goodman | first1 = S. M. | last2 = Rivera | first2 = A. | last3 = Dressel | first3 = C. }}</ref> have altered gait<ref name="Licence2015">{{cite journal|last1=Sammy Licence|title=Gait Pattern Alterations during Walking, Texting and Walking and Texting during Cognitively Distractive Tasks while Negotiating Common Pedestrian Obstacles|journal=[[PLOS One]]|date=29 July 2015|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0133281|pmid=26222430|pmc=4519241|display-authors=etal|volume=10|issue=7|pages=e0133281|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1033281L|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Uchiyama">{{cite journal|author=Uchiyama, M|author2= Demura, S. |author3= Natsuhori, E. |year=2012|title=Changes in gait properties during texting messages by a cell phone. Attention and gait control|journal= Gazzetta Medica Italiana: Archivio per le Scienze Mediche |volume=171 |issue=3|pages=331–340|url=http://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/gazzetta-medica-italiana/article.php?cod=R22Y2012N03A0331}}</ref> and are more unsafe when crossing a street.<ref name="Nasar" /> Additionally, some gait analyses showed that stance phase during overstepping motion, longitudinal and lateral deviation increased during cell phone operation, but step length and clearance did not;<ref name="Lamberg" /><ref name="Uchiyama" /> a different analysis did find increased step clearance and reduced step length.<ref name="Licence2015" />

It is unclear which processes may be affected by distraction, which types of distraction may affect which cognitive processes, and how individual differences may affect the influence of distraction.<ref name=Schwebel>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 22269509
| pmc = 3266515
| year = 2012
| last1 = Schwebel
| first1 = D. C.
| title = Distraction and pedestrian safety: How talking on the phone, texting, and listening to music impact crossing the street
| journal = Accident Analysis & Prevention
| volume = 45
| issue = 2
| pages = 266–71
| last2 = Stavrinos
| first2 = D
| last3 = Byington
| first3 = K. W.
| last4 = Davis
| first4 = T
| last5 = O'Neal
| first5 = E. E.
| last6 = De Jong
| first6 = D
| doi = 10.1016/j.aap.2011.07.011
}}</ref> Lamberg and Muratori believe that engaging in a dual-task, such as texting while walking, may interfere with working memory and result in walking errors.<ref name=Lamberg /> Their study demonstrated that participants engaged in text messaging were unable to maintain walking speed or retain accurate spatial information, suggesting an inability to adequately divide their attention between two tasks. According to them, the addition of texting while walking with vision occluded increases the demands placed on the working memory system resulting in gait disruptions.<ref name=Lamberg />

Texting on a phone distracts participants, even when the texting task used is a relatively simple one.<ref name=Lopresti /> Stavrinos ''[[et al.]]'' investigated the effect of other cognitive tasks, such as engaging in conversations or cognitive tasks on a phone, and found that participants actually have reduced visual awareness.<ref name=Stavrinos>{{cite journal | last1 = Stavrinos | first1 = D. | last2 = Byington | first2 = K. W. | last3 = Schwebel | first3 = D. C. | year = 2011 | title = Distracted walking: Cell phones increase injury risk for college pedestrians | journal = Journal of Safety Research | volume = 42 | issue = 2| pages = 101–107 | doi=10.1016/j.jsr.2011.01.004| pmid = 21569892 }}</ref> This finding was supported by Licence ''et al.'', who conducted a similar study.<ref name="Licence2015" /> For example, texting pedestrians may fail to notice unusual events in their environment, such as a unicycling clown.<ref name=Hyman>{{cite journal | last1 = Hyman | first1 = S.M. | last2 = Boss | first2 = I.E. | last3 = Wise | first3 = B.M. | last4 = McKenzie | first4 = K.E. | last5 = Caggiano | first5 = J.M. | year = 2010 | title = Did you see the unicycling clown? Inattentional blindness while walking and talking on a cell phone | journal = Applied Cognitive Psychology | volume = 29 | issue = 5| pages = 597–607 | doi=10.1002/acp.1638| s2cid = 55587908 }}</ref> These findings suggest that tasks that require the allocation of cognitive resources can affect visual attention even when the task itself does not require the participants to avert their eyes from their environment. The act of texting itself seems to impair pedestrians' visual awareness. It appears that the distraction produced by texting is a combination of both a cognitive and visual perceptual distraction.<ref name=Lopresti /> A study conducted by Licence ''et al.'' supported some of these findings, particularly that those who text while walking significantly alter their gait. However, they also found that the gait pattern texters adopted was slower and more "protective", and consequently did not increase obstacle contact or tripping in a typical pedestrian context.<ref name="Licence2015" />

There have also been technological approaches to increase the safety/awareness of pedestrians that are (unintentionally) blind while using a smartphone, e.g., using a [[Kinect]]<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Hincapié-Ramos|first1=Juan David|last2=Irani|first2=Pourang|title=CrashAlert: Enhancing Peripheral Alertness for Eyes-busy Mobile Interaction While Walking|conference=SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems|date=1 January 2013|pages=3385–3388|doi=10.1145/2470654.2466463|isbn=9781450318990}}</ref> or an ultrasound phone cover<ref>{{cite news|title=Samsung Releasing Smartphone-Paired Technologies for Blind People|url=http://www.medgadget.com/2014/03/samsung-releasing-smartphone-paired-technologies-for-blind-people.html|website=medGadget|access-date=10 November 2016|date=17 March 2014}}</ref> as a virtual white cane, or using the built-in camera to algorithmically analyze single,<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Peng|first1=En|last2=Peursum|first2=Patrick|last3=Li|first3=Ling|last4=Venkatesh|first4=Svetha|title=Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing |chapter=A Smartphone-Based Obstacle Sensor for the Visually Impaired|conference=International Conference on Ubiquitous Intelligence and Computing|volume=6406|date=26 October 2010|pages=590–604|doi=10.1007/978-3-642-16355-5_45|series=Lecture Notes in Computer Science|isbn=978-3-642-16354-8|hdl=20.500.11937/14536|hdl-access=free}}</ref> respectively a stream of pictures<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Foerster|first1=Klaus-Tycho|last2=Gross|first2=Alex|last3=Hail|first3=Nino|last4=Uitto|first4=Jara|last5=Wattenhofer|first5=Roger|title=SpareEye: Enhancing the Safety of Inattentionally Blind Smartphone Users|conference=13th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia|date=1 January 2014|pages=68–72|doi=10.1145/2677972.2677973|isbn=9781450333047}}</ref> for obstacles, with Wang ''et al.'' proposing to use machine learning to specifically detect incoming vehicles.<ref>{{cite conference|last1=Wang|first1=Tianyu|last2=Cardone|first2=Giuseppe|last3=Corradi|first3=Antonio|last4=Torresani|first4=Lorenzo|last5=Campbell|first5=Andrew T.|title=WalkSafe: A Pedestrian Safety App for Mobile Phone Users Who Walk and Talk While Crossing Roads|conference=Twelfth Workshop on Mobile Computing Systems & Applications|date=1 January 2012|pages=5:1–5:6|doi=10.1145/2162081.2162089|isbn=9781450312073}}</ref>

=== Sexting ===
{{Main|Sexting}}
Sexting is slang for the act of sending sexually explicit or suggestive content between mobile devices using SMS.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Risks and Threats">{{cite web|url=http://www.mysecurecyberspace.com/encyclopedia/index/sexting.html|title=Encyclopedia of Risks and Threats|website=MySecureCyberspace|access-date=13 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922034520/http://www.mysecurecyberspace.com/encyclopedia/index/sexting.html|archive-date=22 September 2009}}</ref> It contains either text, images, or video that is intended to be sexually arousing. Sexting was reported as early as 2005 in ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]] Magazine'',<ref name=SunTele>{{cite news |title=The One and Only |author=Roberts, Yvonne |date=31 July 2005 |page=22 |quote=Following a string of extramarital affairs and several lurid "sexting" episodes, Warne has found himself home alone, with Simone Warne taking their three children and flying the conjugal coop.}}</ref> constituting a trend in the creative use of SMS to excite another with alluring messages throughout the day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://grandiva.wordpress.com/2007/02/13/texting-from-faux-pas-to-faux-sex/|title=Texting: From Faux Pas to Faux Sex|website=From the Mind of GrandDiva|date=13 February 2007|access-date=13 January 2009}}</ref>

Although sexting often takes place consensually between two people, it can also occur against the wishes of a person who is the subject of the content.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Risks and Threats"/> A number of instances have been reported in which the recipients of sexting have shared the content of the messages with others, with less intimate intentions, such as to impress their friends or embarrass their sender. Celebrities such as [[Miley Cyrus]], [[Vanessa Hudgens]], and [[Adrienne Bailon]] have been victims of such abuses of sexting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xyhd.tv/2008/12/risque/sexting-with-friends-is-the-new-high-school-note/|title=Sexting with friends is the new High School "note"|website=XYHD.TV|access-date=13 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090706001838/http://www.xyhd.tv/2008/12/risque/sexting-with-friends-is-the-new-high-school-note/|archive-date=6 July 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A 2008 survey by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/sextech/ |title=Sex and Tech Survey |publisher=Thenationalcampaign.org |access-date=29 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326081007/http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/sextech/ |archive-date=26 March 2012 }}</ref> suggested a trend of sexting and other seductive online content being readily shared between teens. One in five teen girls surveyed (22 per cent)—and 11 per cent of teen girls aged 13–16 years old—say they have electronically sent, or posted online, nude or semi-nude images of themselves. One-third (33 per cent) of teen boys and one-quarter (25 per cent) of teen girls say they were shown private nude or semi-nude images. According to the survey, sexually suggestive messages (text, e-mail, and instant messaging) were even more common than images, with 39 per cent of teens having sent or posted such messages, and half of the teens (50 per cent) having received them.

A 2012 study that has received wide international media attention was conducted at the [[University of Utah]] Department of Psychology by Donald S. Strassberg, Ryan Kelly McKinnon, Michael Sustaíta and Jordan Rullo. They surveyed 606 teenagers ages 14–18 and found that nearly 20 per cent of the students said they had sent a sexually explicit image of themselves via cell phone, and nearly twice as many said that they had received a sexually explicit picture. Of those receiving such a picture, over 25 per cent indicated that they had forwarded it to others. In addition, of those who had sent a sexually explicit picture, over a third had done so despite believing that there could be serious legal and other consequences if they got caught. Students who had sent a picture by cell phone were more likely than others to find the activity acceptable. The authors conclude: "These results argue for educational efforts such as cell phone safety assemblies, awareness days, integration into class curriculum and teacher training, designed to raise awareness about the potential consequences of sexting among young people."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Strassberg|first1=Donald|last2=McKinnon|first2=Ryan K.|title=Sexting by High School Students: An Exploratory and Descriptive Study|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|date=7 June 2012|doi=10.1007/s10508-012-9969-8|volume=42|issue=1|pages=15–21|pmid=22674035|s2cid=7998778}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Maffly|first=Brian|title='Sexting' prevalent among high-schoolers, study finds|url=http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54324965-78/explicit-messages-nearly-onlinetoday.html.csp|newspaper=Salt Lake Tribune|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Collins|first=Lois|title=As many as 20% of teens have 'sexted', according to new study|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765583658/As-many-as-20-of-teens-have-sexted.html?pg=all|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120622043733/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765583658/As-many-as-20-of-teens-have-sexted.html?pg=all|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 June 2012|newspaper=Deseret News|access-date=4 July 2012|date=16 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sending Sexually Explicit Photos by Cell Phone Is Common Among Teens|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/06/120613132939.htm|website=Science Daily|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=U Study Finds 'Sexting' More Common Among Teens Than You Might Think|url=https://archive.unews.utah.edu/news_releases/u-study-finds-sending-sexually-explicit-photos-by-cell-phone-more-common-among-teen-than-you-might-think/|date=14 June 2012|website=[[University of Utah]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title='Sexting' Prevalent Among High-Schoolers, Study Finds|url=http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/display/NewsDisplay.asp?NewsNbr=59999|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414191154/http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/display/NewsDisplay.asp?NewsNbr=59999|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 April 2013|publisher=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Prevention Information Network|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Nauert|first=Rick|title=1 in 5 Teens 'Sexting' – Many Without a Clue|url=http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/06/14/1-in-5-teens-sexting-many-without-a-clue/40142.html|publisher=PsychCentral|access-date=4 July 2012|date=14 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425014620/http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/06/14/1-in-5-teens-sexting-many-without-a-clue/40142.html|archive-date=25 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=U study: More teens 'sext' than previously thought|url=http://fox13now.com/2012/06/14/u-of-u-study-says-high-percentage-of-teens-sharing-sexting-pics/|publisher=Fox 13 News|access-date=4 July 2012|date=15 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Most teens unaware about legal consequences of sexting: Study|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/Most-teens-unaware-about-legal-consequences-of-sexting-Study/articleshow/14128744.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615101011/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/Most-teens-unaware-about-legal-consequences-of-sexting-Study/articleshow/14128744.cms|archive-date=15 June 2012|newspaper=Times of India|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sexting is More Common Among Teens Than Previously Thought, Say Researchers|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/352901/20120616/sexting-more-common-teens-previously-thought-researchers.htm|website=International Business Times|access-date=5 July 2012|date=16 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Why teens indulge in so much 'sexting'?|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/sexandrelationships/why-teens-indulge-in-so-much-sexting/article1-872741.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306102703/http://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/sexandrelationships/why-teens-indulge-in-so-much-sexting/article1-872741.aspx|archive-date=6 March 2014|newspaper=Hindustan Times|url-status=dead|access-date=5 July 2012}}</ref>{{excessive citations inline|date=December 2022}} Sexting becomes a legal issue when teens (under 18) are involved, because any nude photos they may send of themselves would put the recipients in possession of child pornography.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/blog/index.ssf/2008/12/connie_schultz_making_kids_to.html|title=Connie Schultz: Making kids to tell law's naked truth is the perfect sentence|website=The Plain Dealer|date=13 December 2008|archive-url=https://archive.today/20090201173208/http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/blog/index.ssf/2008/12/connie_schultz_making_kids_to.html|archive-date=1 February 2009}}</ref>

=== In schools ===
[[File:Textinginclass.jpg|thumb|Two girls text during class at school.]]
Text messaging has affected students academically by creating an easier way to cheat on exams. In December 2002, a dozen students were caught cheating on an accounting exam through the use of text messages on their mobile phones.<ref name=autogenerated3>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsline.umd.edu/business/specialreports/teentechnology/textmessaging051706.htm |title=Maryland Newsline – Business & Tech Special Report: Teens and Technology |publisher=Newsline.umd.edu |date=17 May 2006 |access-date=29 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323015523/http://www.newsline.umd.edu/business/specialreports/teentechnology/textmessaging051706.htm |archive-date=23 March 2012 }}</ref> In December 2002, Hitotsubashi University in Japan failed 26 students for receiving emailed exam answers on their mobile phones.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=34945&CFID=3922618&CFTOKEN=23513501 |title=Top News – Students dial up trouble in new twist to cheating |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705030506/http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=34945&CFID=3922618&CFTOKEN=23513501 |archive-date=5 July 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The number of students caught using mobile phones to cheat on exams has increased significantly in recent years. According to Okada (2005), most Japanese mobile phones can send and receive long text messages of between 250 and 3000 characters with graphics, video, audio, and Web links.<ref>{{cite book |last=Okada |first=T. |date=2005 |chapter=Youth culture and shaping of Japanese mobile media: personalization and the keitainInternet as multimedia |editor1=M. Ito |editor2=D. Okabe |editor3=M. Matsuda |title=Personal, Portable, Pedestrian: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |publisher=MIT Press |isbn=0-262-09039-2}}</ref>

In England, 287 school and college students were excluded from exams in 2004 for using mobile phones during exams.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4448167.stm |work=BBC News | title=Exams ban for mobile phone users | date=15 April 2005 | access-date=25 May 2010}}</ref> Some teachers and professors claim that advanced texting features can lead to students cheating on exams.<ref>Goggin, G (2006) ''Cell Phone Culture: Mobile technology in everyday life''. New York: Routledge {{ISBN|0-415-36744-1}}</ref> Students in high school and college classrooms are using their mobile phones to send and receive texts during lectures at high rates. Further, published research has established that students who text during college lectures have impaired memories of the lecture material compared to students who do not.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Carrier | first1 = L. M. | last2 = Rosen | first2 = L. D. | last3 = Cheever | first3 = N. A. | last4 = Lim | first4 = A. | year = 2015 | title = Causes, effects, and practicalities of everyday multitasking | journal = Developmental Review | volume = 35 | pages = 64–78 | doi=10.1016/j.dr.2014.12.005}} Special issue on Living in the "Net" Generation: Multitasking, Learning and Development.</ref> For example, in one study, the number of irrelevant text messages sent and received during a lecture covering the topic of developmental psychology was related to students' memory of the lecture.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Rosen | first1 = L. D. | last2 = Lim | first2 = A. F. | last3 = Carrier | first3 = L. M. | last4 = Cheever | first4 = N. A. | year = 2011 | title = An Empirical Examination of the Educational Impact of Text Message-Induced Task Switching in the Classroom: Educational Implications and Strategies to Enhance Learning | journal = Psicología Educativa (Spain) | volume = 17 | issue = 2| pages = 163–77 | doi=10.5093/ed2011v17n2a4| doi-access = free }}</ref>

==== Bullying ====
{{Main|Cyberbullying}}
Spreading rumors and gossip by text message, using text messages to [[bully]] individuals, or forwarding texts that contain defamatory content is an issue of great concern for parents and schools. Text "bullying" of this sort can cause distress and damage reputations. In some cases, individuals who are bullied online have committed suicide. Harding and Rosenberg (2005) argue that the urge to forward text messages can be difficult to resist, describing text messages as "loaded weapons".<ref>Harding, S. & Rosenberg, D. (Ed). (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=59U4XLH001YC&pg=PA84 ''Histories of the Future'']. London: Duke University Press, p. 84 {{ISBN|0-8223-3473-9}}</ref>

[[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s messaging app, [[Messages (Apple)|Messages]], uses Apple's Internet-based messaging service, [[iMessage]], to send messages to other iMessage users, and uses SMS as a fallback when no data connection is present, or when messaging non-iMessage users. It sets the color of messages depending on which technology was used. This has led to instances of iMessage users bullying people without [[iPhone]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Molina |first=Brett |title=Google says Apple's iMessage, and its blue message bubbles, dominate because of bullying |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2022/01/10/google-imessage-iphone-text-messages/9155873002/ |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Higgins |first=Tim |date=2022-01-08 |title=Why Apple's iMessage Is Winning: Teens Dread the Green Text Bubble |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-apples-imessage-is-winning-teens-dread-the-green-text-bubble-11641618009 |access-date=2023-11-11 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Kimberly Gedeon |date=2022-10-08 |title=Green bubble trouble — how Apple geniously employs dark psychology with iMessage |url=https://www.laptopmag.com/features/green-bubble-trouble |access-date=2023-11-11 |website=LaptopMag |language=en}}</ref>

==== Influence on perceptions of the student ====
When a student sends an email that contains phonetic abbreviations and acronyms that are common in text messaging (e.g., "gr8" instead of "great"), it can influence how that student is subsequently evaluated. In a study by Lewandowski and Harrington (2006), participants read a student's email sent to a professor that either contained text-messaging abbreviations (gr8, How R U?) or parallel text in standard English (great, How are you?), and then provided impressions of the sender.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The influence of phonetic abbreviations on evaluation of student performance |first1=Gary |last1=Lewandowski |first2=Samantha |last2=Harrington |journal=Current Research in Social Psychology |volume=11 |issue=15 |year=2006 |pages=215–226 |url=http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp11_15.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105223126/http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp11_15.pdf |archive-date=5 January 2014 }}</ref> Students who used abbreviations in their email were perceived as having a less favorable personality and as putting forth less effort on an essay they submitted along with the email. Specifically, abbreviation users were seen as less intelligent, responsible, motivated, studious, dependable, and hard-working. These findings suggest that the nature of a student's email communication can influence how others perceive the student and their work.

However, students have become aware of the reality that using these [[SMS language|textisms]] and adaptations can negatively impact their professionalism. Drouin and Davis surveyed American undergraduates in 2009 and found that three quarters of participants believed the use of textisms were not appropriate in formal messaging and writing.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Grace |first1=Abbie |last2=Kemp |first2=Nenagh |author-link2=Nenagh Kemp |last3=Martin |first3=Frances H |last4=Parrila |first4=Rauno |date=May 2015 |title=Undergraduates' attitudes to text messaging language use and intrusions of textisms into formal writing |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1461444813516832 |journal=New Media & Society |language=en |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=792–809 |doi=10.1177/1461444813516832 |issn=1461-4448 |s2cid=424414|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A study performed by Grace ''[[et al.]]'' (2013) asked 150 undergraduate students to rate the appropriateness of using textisms in a given scenario on a scale of one to five – five being entirely appropriate and one being not at all.<ref name=":0" /> All but eleven of the students rated the use of textisms in exams and typed assignments as "not at all appropriate", showing that the students are aware of how they must adapt their written language and tone depending on the context.<ref name=":0" /> Grace ''et al.'' (2010) went further, observing hundreds of academic papers from previous undergraduate students' exams, only to find that out of 533,500 words, a mere 0.02% were textisms. They owe this to the fact that the more accumulated experience a student has, the more they are able to understand when the "appropriate" and "inappropriate" times to use such language is.<ref name=":0" />

=== Law and crime ===
Text messaging has been a subject of interest for police forces around the world. One of the issues of concern to [[law enforcement]] agencies is the use of [[encryption|encrypted]] text messages. In 2003, a British company developed a program called Fortress SMS which used 128 bit AES [[encryption]] to protect SMS messages.<ref>Fortress SMS technical report</ref> Police have also retrieved deleted text messages to aid them in solving crimes. For example, Swedish police retrieved deleted texts from a cult member who claimed she committed a double murder based on forwarded texts she received.<ref>Robert Burnett; Ylva Hård af Segerstad (8 September 2005). "The SMS murder mystery" in Safety and Security in a Networked World. Balancing Cyber-Rights & Responsibilities, Oxford Internet Institute.</ref> Police in [[Tilburg]], Netherlands, started an SMS alert program, in which they would send a message to ask citizens to be vigilant when a burglar was on the loose or a child was missing in their neighbourhood. Several thieves have been caught and children have been found using the SMS Alerts. The service has been expanding to other cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/12/010856.htm |title=SMS Alert Service for Dutch Police |publisher=textually.org |date=8 December 2005 |access-date=29 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322025805/http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/12/010856.htm |archive-date=22 March 2012 }}</ref> A Malaysian–Australian company has released a multi-layer SMS security program.<ref>CryptoSMS – Crypto for Criminals</ref> Boston police are now turning to text messaging to help stop crime. The Boston Police Department asks citizens to send texts to make anonymous crime tips.<ref>{{cite web|author=Weiss, Todd R. |url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9025159/Boston_police_turn_to_text_messages_to_fight_crime |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109152958/http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9025159/Boston_police_turn_to_text_messages_to_fight_crime |archive-date=9 January 2014 |title=Boston police turn to text messages to fight crime |publisher=Computerworld.com |date=18 June 2007 |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

Under some interpretations of [[sharia law]], husbands can divorce their wives by the pronouncement of [[talaq]]. In 2003, a court in Malaysia upheld such a divorce pronouncement which was transmitted via SMS.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3100143.stm|title=Malaysia permits text message divorce|date=27 July 2003|via=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

The [[Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court]] ruled in 2017 that under the state constitution, police require a [[Search warrant|warrant]] before obtaining access to text messages without consent.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wbur.org/news/2017/05/05/sjc-text-messages-warrant|title=A Warrant Is Needed To Obtain Text Messages, State High Court Rules|website=www.wbur.org|date=5 May 2017 }}</ref>

=== Social unrest ===
Texting has been used on a number of occasions with the result of the gathering of large aggressive crowds. SMS messaging drew a crowd to [[Cronulla Beach]] in Sydney resulting in the [[2005 Cronulla riots]]. Not only were text messages circulating in the Sydney area but in other states as well (''Daily Telegraph''). The volume of such text messages and e-mails also increased in the wake of the riot.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goggin |first1=Gerard |title=SMS Riot: Transmitting Race on a Sydney Beach, December 2005: The Politics of Transmission |journal=M/C Journal |date=2006 |volume=9 |issue=1 |doi=10.5204/mcj.2582|doi-access=free}}</ref> The crowd of 5,000 at stages became violent, attacking certain ethnic groups. Sutherland Shire Mayor directly blamed heavily circulated SMS messages for the unrest.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/text-messages-fuel-trouble-20051212-gdmm5w.html|title=Text messages 'fuel trouble'|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=11 December 2005}}</ref> NSW police considered whether people could be charged over the texting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2005-12-09/police-consider-sms-cronulla-messages-a-crime/758070|title=Police consider SMS Cronulla messages 'a crime'|website=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=9 December 2005}}</ref> Retaliatory attacks also used SMS.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kennedy|first=Les|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/man-in-court-over-cronulla-revenge-sms-20061207-gdozp5.html|title=Man in court over Cronulla revenge SMS|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=6 December 2006}}</ref>

The Narre Warren Incident, when a group of 500 party goers attended a party at Narre Warren in Melbourne, Australia, and rioted in January 2008, also was a response of communication being spread by SMS and Myspace.<ref>{{cite news|first=Daniella|last=Miletic|url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/police-probe-how-500-teens-got-party-invite-20080114-ge6lrl.html|title=Police probe how 500 teens got a party invite|newspaper=[[The Age]]|date=13 January 2008|access-date=8 March 2020}}</ref> Following the incident, the Police Commissioner wrote an open letter asking young people to be aware of the power of SMS and the Internet.<ref>{{cite news|first=Christine|last=Nixon|date=15 January 2008|url=https://www.news.com.au/opinion/even-good-kids-need-to-have-limits/news-story/1d29cb9ea343974cefff649a96fc5d5b|title=We were all young once, but teens need limits|website=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=5 April 2012}}</ref> In Hong Kong, government officials find that text messaging helps socially because they can send multiple texts to the community. Officials say it is an easy way of contacting the community or individuals for meetings or events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~fanis/csc104/student-presentations/mobile.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217003118/http://www.dgp.toronto.edu/~fanis/csc104/student-presentations/mobile.html |archive-date=17 February 2008 |url-status=dead |title=The Social Impacts of Mobile Phones and Text Messaging |publisher=Dgp.toronto.edu |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> Texting was used to coordinate gatherings during the [[2009 Iranian election protests]].

Between 2009 and 2012 the U.S. secretly created and funded a [[Twitter]]-like service for Cubans called [[ZunZuneo]], initially based on mobile phone text message service and later with an internet interface. The service was funded by the [[U.S. Agency for International Development]] through its [[Office of Transition Initiatives]], who utilized contractors and front companies in the Cayman Islands, Spain and Ireland. A longer-term objective was to organize "smart mobs" that might "renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society." A database about the subscribers was created, including gender, age, and "political tendencies". At its peak ZunZuneo had 40,000 Cuban users, but the service closed as financially unsustainable when U.S. funding was stopped.<ref name=wp-20140403>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-secretly-created-cuban-twitter-to-stir-unrest/2014/04/03/8a2dc77c-bafa-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403230104/http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/us-secretly-created-cuban-twitter-to-stir-unrest/2014/04/03/8a2dc77c-bafa-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 April 2014 |title=U'S' secretly created 'Cuban Twitter' to stir unrest |author1=Arce, Alberto |author2=Butler, Desmond  |author3=Gillum, Jack |newspaper=Washington Post |agency=Associated Press |date=3 April 2014 |access-date=6 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=forbes-20140404>{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/04/03/why-the-u-s-governments-fake-cuban-twitter-service-failed/ |title=Why The U'S' Government's Fake 'Cuban Twitter' Service Failed |author=Olson, Parmy |newspaper=Forbes |date=4 April 2014 |access-date=6 April 2014}}</ref>

=== In politics ===
{{see also|Political text messaging}}
[[File:Threatening text - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|A text message that (he says) promises 500 [[Libyan dinar]]s ($400) to anyone who "makes noise" in support of [[Gaddafi]] in the coming days]]
[[File:Sms.jpg|thumb|A recruitment ban in French [[SMS language]]: «Slt koi29 on é jamé 2tro @ s batre pour la P. ;-)» = «''Salut! Quoi de neuf? On n'est jamais de trop à se battre pour la Paix!''»]]

Text messaging has affected the political world. American campaigns find that text messaging is a much easier, cheaper way of getting to the voters than the door-to-door approach.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/02/news/net.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060908033104/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/02/news/net.php|archive-date=8 September 2006 |url-status=dead |title=In politics, blogs and text messages are the new American way |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |first=Adam |last=Nagourney |author-link=Adam Nagourney |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> In 2006 Mexico's then president-elect [[Felipe Calderón]] launched millions of text messages in the days immediately preceding his narrow win over [[Andrés Manuel López Obrador]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/46675?tid=relatedcl |title=Text Messaging in U.S. Politics |work=Newsweek |date=1 August 2006 |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> In January 2001, Joseph Estrada was forced to resign from the post of president of the Philippines. The popular campaign against him was widely reported to have been coordinated with SMS chain letters.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> A massive texting campaign was credited with boosting youth turnout in Spain's 2004 parliamentary elections.<ref name="autogenerated2" /> In 2008, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his chief of staff at the time became entangled in a sex scandal stemming from the exchange of over 14,000 text messages that eventually led to his forced resignation, the conviction of perjury, and other charges.<ref name="huliq1"/>
Text messaging has been used to turn down other political leaders. During the 2004 U.S. Democratic and Republican National Conventions, protesters used an SMS-based organizing tool called TXTmob to get to opponents.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.txtmob.com/ |title=TxtMob |publisher=TxtMob |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> In the last day before the 2004 presidential elections in Romania, a message against [[Adrian Năstase]] was largely circulated, thus breaking the laws that prohibited campaigning that day. Text messaging has helped politics by promoting campaigns.

On 20 January 2001, President [[Joseph Estrada]] of the Philippines became the first head of state in history to lose power to a [[smart mob]].<ref name="Rheingold, Howard 2002">Rheingold, Howard (2002) Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution, Perseus, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. xi–xxii, 157–82 {{ISBN|0-7382-0861-2}}.</ref> More than one million Manila residents assembled at the site of the 1986 [[People Power Revolution|People Power]] peaceful demonstrations that have toppled the Marcos regime. These people have organized themselves and coordinated their actions through text messaging. They were able to bring down a government without having to use any weapons or violence. Through text messaging, their plans and ideas were communicated to others and successfully implemented. Also, this move encouraged the military to withdraw their support from the regime, and as a result, the Estrada government fell.<ref name="Rheingold, Howard 2002"/> People were able to converge and unite with the use of their cell phones. "The rapid assembly of the anti-Estrada crowd was a hallmark of early [[smart mob]] technology, and the millions of text messages exchanged by the demonstrators in 2001 was, by all accounts, a key to the crowds [[esprit de corps]]."<ref name="Rheingold, Howard 2002"/>

=== Use in healthcare ===
[[File:Text messaging used to provide encouragement to quit smoking.png|thumb|right|Some health organizations manage text messaging services to help people avoid smoking.]]
Text messaging is a rapidly growing trend in Healthcare.{{when|date=December 2014}} A randomized controlled trial of text messaging intervention for diabetes in Bangladesh was one of the first robust trials to report improvement in diabetes management in a low-and-middle income country.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Islam|first1=Sheikh Mohammed Shariful|last2=Niessen|first2=Louis W.|last3=Ferrari|first3=Uta|last4=Ali|first4=Liaquat|last5=Seissler|first5=Jochen|last6=Lechner|first6=Andreas|date=1 August 2015|title=Effects of Mobile Phone SMS to Improve Glycemic Control Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in Bangladesh: A Prospective, Parallel-Group, Randomized Controlled Trial|url=https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/38/8/e112|journal=Diabetes Care|volume=38|issue=8|pages=e112–e113|doi=10.2337/dc15-0505|issn=0149-5992|pmid=26207059|doi-access=free}}</ref> A recent systematic review and individual participants data meta analysis from 3,779 participants reported that mobile phone text messaging could improve blood pressure and body mass index.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shariful Islam|first1=Sheikh Mohammed|last2=Farmer|first2=Andrew J|last3=Bobrow|first3=Kirsten|last4=Maddison|first4=Ralph|last5=Whittaker|first5=Robyn|last6=Pfaeffli Dale|first6=Leila Anne|last7=Lechner|first7=Andreas|last8=Lear|first8=Scott|last9=Eapen|first9=Zubin|last10=Niessen|first10=Louis Wilhelmus|last11=Santo|first11=Karla|date=October 2019|title=Mobile phone text-messaging interventions aimed to prevent cardiovascular diseases (Text2PreventCVD): systematic review and individual patient data meta-analysis|journal=Open Heart|volume=6|issue=2|pages=e001017|doi=10.1136/openhrt-2019-001017|issn=2053-3624|pmc=6802999|pmid=31673381}}</ref> Another study in people with type 2 diabetes showed that participants were willing to pay a modest amount to receive a diabetes text messaging program in addition to standard care.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shariful Islam|first1=Sheikh Mohammed|last2=Lechner|first2=Andreas|last3=Ferrari|first3=Uta|last4=Seissler|first4=Jochen|last5=Holle|first5=Rolf|last6=Niessen|first6=Louis W.|date=1 March 2016|title=Mobile phone use and willingness to pay for SMS for diabetes in Bangladesh|url=https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/38/1/163/2362665|journal=Journal of Public Health|volume=38|issue=1|pages=163–169|doi=10.1093/pubmed/fdv009|pmid=25687131|issn=1741-3842|doi-access=free|hdl=10536/DRO/DU:30109150|hdl-access=free}}</ref> "One survey found that 73% of physicians text other physicians about work- similar to the overall percentage of the population that texts."{{citation needed|date=December 2014}} A 2006 study of reminder messages sent to children and adolescents with [[type 1 diabetes mellitus]] showed favorable changes in adherence to treatment.<ref>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 18550322
| pmc = 2527290
| year = 2008
| author1 = Patrick, K.
| title = Health and the mobile phone
| journal = American Journal of Preventive Medicine
| volume = 35
| issue = 2
| pages = 177–81
| last2 = Griswold
| first2 = W. G.
| last3 = Raab
| first3 = F
| last4 = Intille
| first4 = S. S.
| doi = 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.001
}}</ref> A risk is that these physicians could be violating the [[Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act]]. Where messages could be saved to a phone indefinitely, patient information could be subject to theft or loss, and could be seen by other unauthorized persons. The HIPAA privacy rule requires that any text message involving a medical decision must be available for the patient to access, meaning that any texts that are not documented in an EMR system could be a HIPAA violation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Terry|first=Ken|date=31 October 2012|url=http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/text-messaging-between-clinicians-increasing-in-hospitals/d/d-id/1107145?|title=Text Messaging Between Clinicians Increasing in Hospitals|website=[[InformationWeek]]|access-date=19 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.onpage.com/hipaa-compliant-messaging/|title=HIPAA compliant messaging for healthcare providers|website=OnPage|access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref>

=== Medical concerns ===
{{Main|BlackBerry thumb}}
The excessive use of the thumb for pressing keys on mobile devices has led to a high rate of a form of [[repetitive strain injury]] termed "BlackBerry thumb" (although this refers to strain developed on older Blackberry devices, which had a scroll wheel on the side of the phone). An inflammation of the tendons in the thumb caused by constant text-messaging is also called text-messager's thumb, or texting [[tenosynovitis]].<ref name="test">{{cite news|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/new-zealand-woman-diagnosed-with-text-thumb-20071224-ge9h5x.html|title=New Zealand woman diagnosed with text thumb|newspaper=[[Brisbane Times]]|date=24 December 2007|access-date=3 October 2022}}</ref> Texting has also been linked as a secondary source in numerous traffic collisions, in which police investigations of mobile phone records have found that many drivers have lost control of their cars while attempting to send or retrieve a text message. Increasing cases of Internet [[Behavioral addiction|addiction]] are now also being linked to text messaging, as mobile phones are now more likely to have e-mail and Web capabilities to complement the ability to text.

=== Etiquette ===
{{Main|Texting etiquette}}
Texting etiquette refers to what is considered appropriate texting behaviour. These expectations may concern different areas, such as the context in which a text was sent and received/read, who each participant was with when the participant sent or received/read a text message or what constitutes impolite text messages.<ref name="Shuter 2010 123">{{cite journal |last1=Shuter |first1=Robert |last2=Chattopadhyay |first2=Sumana |year=2010 |title=Emerging Interpersonal Norms of Text Messaging in India and the United States |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=comm_fac |journal=[[Journal of Intercultural Communication Research]] |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=123–147 |doi=10.1080/17475759.2010.526319 |s2cid=143705457|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Expectations for etiquette may differ depending on various factors. For example, expectations for appropriate behaviour have been found to differ markedly between the U.S. and India.<ref name="Shuter 2010 1232">{{cite journal |last1=Shuter |first1=Robert |last2=Chattopadhyay |first2=Sumana |year=2010 |title=Emerging Interpersonal Norms of Text Messaging in India and the United States |url=https://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=comm_fac |journal=[[Journal of Intercultural Communication Research]] |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=123–147 |doi=10.1080/17475759.2010.526319 |s2cid=143705457|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Common online dating advice is to avoid [[Dry text|dry texting]], or the use of short, relatively low-effort messages, but this idea has been criticized by people who prefer having more substantive social interactions in other mediums, rather than texting.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Daisy |date=16 February 2023 |title=Take It From A Dry Texter: Short Messages Don’t Mean Someone Isn’t Interested |url=https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/dry-texting |website=[[British Vogue]]}}</ref>

=== Typing awareness indicators ===
[[File:Left on read.jpg|thumb|Mural of a text message reading "I love you" and an ellipsis as a typing awareness indicator on the left (France, 2021)]]
In some text messaging software products, an [[ellipsis]] is displayed while the interlocutor is typing characters. The feature has been referred to as a "typing awareness indicator",<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gardiner |first1=Michael E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iiQlDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA147 |title=Boredom Studies Reader: Frameworks and Perspectives |last2=Haladyn |first2=Julian Jason |date=2016-10-04 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-40361-6 |pages=147 |language=en}}</ref> for which patents have been filed since the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=SFGATE |first=Dianne de Guzman |date=2020-11-20 |title=The history behind text messaging's most dreadful feature |url=https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/typing-message-indicators-Jerry-Cuomo-IBM-text-15740983.php |access-date=2023-01-18 |website=SFGATE |language=en-US}}</ref>