In an age of smartphones, tablets, and ubiquitous wi-fi connectivity, text messaging is an increasingly popular way to communicate with others. In our most recent Digital Future survey, 62 percent of U.S. cell-phone owners reported using the texting function of their devices. The average number of messages sent by those respondents was 48 per day.
As can be expected, the SMS volume was particularly high among young people. Cell phone users under 18 reported the largest number of text messages: 104 per day on average — a considerable increase from previous daily averages of 81 texts in 2009 and 51 in 2008.
Cell phone users ages 18 to 34 also reported an increase in messaging with 62 texts per day for 2010, compared to 42 in 2009. The numbers were much lower for the older age groups: an average of 15 messages a day for those ages 35-54 and only 5 messages a day for cell-phone users aged 55 and above.
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Text messages sent per day — by age
(Cell phone users who send text messages)
For the full report of 2010 findings, visit here.
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