Editing Text messaging (section)

== Uses ==
[[File:Whatsapp chatting outdoor 20180808.jpg|thumb|A person recreationally text messaging using [[WhatsApp]]]]
[[File:iPhone Text Message Amber Alert 1882467856 o.jpg|thumb|An SMS text message on an [[iPhone]] announcing an [[AMBER Alert]]]]
Text messaging is most often used between private mobile phone users, as a substitute for voice calls in situations where voice communication is impossible or undesirable (e.g., during a school class or a work meeting). Texting is also used to communicate very brief messages, such as informing someone that you will be late or reminding a friend or colleague about a meeting. As with e-mail, informality and brevity have become an accepted part of text messaging. Some text messages such as SMS can also be used for the remote control of home appliances. It is widely used in [[domotics]] systems. Some amateurs have also built their own systems to control (some of) their appliances via SMS.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elektormagazine.nl/magazine/elektor-201106/16316 |title=Lange-afstandsbediening met uw mobieltje |trans-title=Long remote control with your mobile phone |language=nl |publisher=Elektor.nl |date=1 June 2011 |access-date=3 October 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|author=Grégory Ester |url=https://www.elektormagazine.com/magazine/elektor-201106/19603 |title=Geolocation with the ATM18 |magazine=[[Elektor]] |date=June 2011 |url-access=subscription |access-date=15 January 2020}}</ref> A [[SMS#Flash SMS|Flash SMS]] is a type<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telesignmobile.com/message-sms-types.pmx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906052524/http://www.telesignmobile.com/message-sms-types.pmx|archive-date=6 September 2013 |title=SMS types on |publisher=Routomessaging.com |access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref> of text message that appears directly on the main screen without user interaction and is not automatically stored in the inbox. It can be useful in cases such as an emergency (e.g., [[Fire alarm system|fire alarm]]) or [[confidentiality]] (e.g., [[one-time password]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sms-wiki.org/p_28-flash-sms.html |title=Flash SMS |website=Ozeki SMS wiki |access-date=29 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330233043/http://www.sms-wiki.org/p_28-flash-sms.html |archive-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

SMS has historically been particularly popular in Europe, Asia (excluding Japan; see below), the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, while also gaining influence in Africa. Popularity has grown to a sufficient extent that the term ''texting'' (used as a [[verb]] meaning the act of mobile phone users sending short messages back and forth) has entered the common lexicon. In 2012, young Asians considered SMS as the most popular mobile phone application.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.synovate.com/changeagent/index.php/site/full_story/living_the_fast_living_young_in_asia/ |title=Living the fast, young life in Asia |work=synovate.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306081600/http://www.synovate.com/changeagent/index.php/site/full_story/living_the_fast_living_young_in_asia |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}</ref> In the same year, 50 percent of American teens send 50 text messages or more per day, making it their most frequent form of communication.<ref>{{cite news|last=NGAK|first=CHENDA|title=Teens are sending 60 texts a day, study says|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/teens-are-sending-60-texts-a-day-study-says/|publisher=CBS NEWS|access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref> In 2004 in China, SMS was very popular and brought service providers significant profit (18 billion short messages were sent in 2001).<ref name="2001 message rate">{{cite web|url=http://www.tymcc.com.cn/news/linenews/export.asp?id=1313 |title=News report on text rates for 2001 |work=tymcc.com.cn |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040405194938/http://www.tymcc.com.cn/news/linenews/export.asp?id=1313 |archive-date=5 April 2004 }}</ref>

It has been a very influential and powerful tool in the Philippines, where in 2008 the average user sent 10–12 text messages a day. The same year, the Philippines alone sent on average over 1 billion text messages a day,<ref name="Philippine Daily Inquirer">{{cite web|url=http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20080304-122775/Filipinos-sent-1-billion-text-messages-daily-in-2007/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510031459/http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20080304-122775/Filipinos-sent-1-billion-text-messages-daily-in-2007/|archive-date=10 May 2011|title=Filipinos sent 1 billion text messages|work=technology.inquirer.net|publisher=[[Philippine Daily Inquirer]]|date=4 March 2008}}</ref> more than the annual average SMS volume of the countries in Europe, and even China and India. SMS saw hugely popular in India, where youngsters often exchanged many text messages, and companies provide alerts, infotainment, news, cricket scores updates, railway/airline booking, mobile billing, and banking services on SMS.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

Similarly, in 2008, text messaging played a primary role in the implication of former Detroit Mayor [[Kwame Kilpatrick]] in an SMS sex scandal.<ref name="huliq1">{{cite web|author=HULIQ |url=http://www.huliq.com/48240/detroit-mayor-kwame-kilpatrick-christine-beatty-sex-sms-scandal |title=Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Christine Beatty in Sex SMS Scandal |publisher=Huliq.com |access-date=29 March 2012|date=24 January 2008 }}</ref> Short messages are particularly popular among young urbanites.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} In many markets, the service is comparatively cheap. For example, in Australia, a message typically costs between [[Australian dollar|A$]]0.20 and $0.25 to send (some prepaid services charge $0.01 between their own phones), compared with a voice call, which costs somewhere between $0.40 and $2.00 per minute (commonly charged in half-minute blocks).{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} The service is enormously profitable to the service providers.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} At a typical length of only 190&nbsp;bytes (including protocol overhead), more than 350 of these messages per minute can be transmitted at the same data rate as a usual voice call (9&nbsp;kbit/s). There are also free SMS services available, which are often sponsored, that allow sending<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://globfone.com/send-text/ |title = Send text free}}</ref> and receiving<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://thesmsbay.com/ |title = Receive Texts for Free &#124; the SMS Bay}}</ref> SMS from a [[Personal computer|PC]] connected to the Internet. Mobile service providers in New Zealand, such as [[One NZ]] and [[Spark New Zealand]], provided up to 2000 SMS messages for NZ$10 per month. Users on these plans sent on average 1500 SMS messages every month.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} Text messaging became so popular that advertising agencies and advertisers jumped into the text messaging business.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}} Services that provide bulk text message sending are also becoming a popular way for clubs, associations, and advertisers to reach a group of opt-in subscribers quickly.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In 2013, research suggested that Internet-based mobile messaging would grow to equal the popularity of SMS by the end of 2013, with nearly 10 trillion messages being sent through each technology.<ref name=Tyntec>{{cite web|url=https://www.tyntec.com/fileadmin/tyntec.com/whitepapers/Whitepaper-GigaOM_tyntec_-_Converged_Mobile_Messaging_-_Jan_15_2013.pdf|title=Converged-mobile-messaging analysis and forecasts|work=tyntec.com|first=Peter|last=Crocker|date=15 January 2013|access-date=23 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512203733/https://www.tyntec.com/fileadmin/tyntec.com/whitepapers/Whitepaper-GigaOM_tyntec_-_Converged_Mobile_Messaging_-_Jan_15_2013.pdf|archive-date=12 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=mobilenewscwp>{{cite web |url=http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2013/01/23/tyntec-predicts-surge-in-ip-based-messaging-this-year/ |title=Mobile and SMS interaction service conducts study that says that IP-based mobile messaging will be just as popular as traditional SMS |website=mobile news |first=Paul |last=Withers |date=23 January 2013 |access-date=23 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424040622/http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2013/01/23/tyntec-predicts-surge-in-ip-based-messaging-this-year/ |archive-date=24 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Services such as [[Facebook Messenger]]/[[WhatsApp]], [[Signal (software)]], [[Snapchat]], [[Telegram (software)]], and [[Viber]] have led to a decline in the use of SMS in parts of the world. A survey conducted by MetrixLabs showed that 63% of Baby Boomers, 63% of Generation X, and 67% of Generation Y said that they used instant messengers in place of texting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How messaging apps change the way we communicate |url=https://www.metrixlab.com/portfolio/messaging-apps-change-way-communicate/ |access-date=2020-04-01 |website=MetrixLab |language=en-US}}</ref> A Facebook survey showed that 65% of people surveyed thought that messaging applications made group messaging easier.<ref>{{Cite news |title=More Than a Message: The Evolution of Conversation |url=https://insights.fb.com/morethanamessage/ |access-date=2020-04-01 |website=insights.fb.com}}</ref>