Recent high-profile events have led to noteworthy spikes in SMS traffic. The assassination of Osama bin Laden and the royal wedding come to mind. It appears that short attention spans and the public’s insatiable need for real time information about everything from uprisings in Libya to Lady Gaga’s eating habits has fueled SMS as the communication medium of the day.
The devices on which we’re passing along news and gossip range from simple feature phones to high-powered handheld computers. While many are tracking their kids and paying for goods at retail shops with their smartphones, sending a text message is probably one of the simplest of tasks that an iOS or Android device completes in a day’s work.
At CTIA in Orlando this spring, I was surprised to learn that many analysts think the mid-range Android smartphone is on track to see huge growth in the near future. Emerging and prepaid markets, they said, are the two places where users will be looking to get something with a little bit more power but at a reasonable price point.
But I think the busy parents looking to stay in touch with their text-centric kids are also interested in this type of device, if not a step lower into the ever-popular mid-range texting device. While apps and extra gadgetry fill many with joy, the colorful icons of an iPhone or Droid can just as easily strike fear in the hearts of others.
I recently read an interesting report from messaging company Syniverse that explained the “messaging family phenomenon,” which is fancy lingo for the way parents are desperately hoping to stay in touch with their kids. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest texting days of the year. According to Syniverse’s 2010 stats, people sent more text messages on Mother’s Day (1.63 billion) than New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day. Is it possible that moms are now forced to be content with an “I Luv U!” as opposed to a peck on the cheek?
Phones like the Palm Pixi and LG Slider seem to be popular with this group of parental texting wannabes. While teens may still deride their parents in public for their oh-so-2010 Samsung Rant, we’ll just hope said parents are secure enough in their un-hipness to let it roll off their backs. It’s a good bet that comments after the high school baseball game go something like, “My dad doesn’t even know what an app is.”
Current events and Charlie Sheen’s latest rant may continue to force spikes in SMS traffic, but it’s really those connections that we hold most dear that constitute the bulk of texts on a daily basis. Texters and feature phones are here to stay (or at least some lowest-common-denominator type of easy-to-use phone). It’s really something to realize that diverse device portfolios are actually allowing dorky parents to remain embedded in their kids’ technologically sophisticated worlds, from which they would otherwise be entirely banished.
Charles Landry, senior vice president of messaging for Syniverse, said it’s not quite as black and white as just not wanting to talk to mom. “Texting is a more accepted form of communication, much more so than in previous years,” he said. “Most mothers, even my mom, would accept and appreciate a text, especially if a picture of her grandchildren is attached.”
Landry said texting has hit a point where we’re actually using it to initiate a conversation. “Many text messages send Happy Mother’s Day wishes and ask if this is a good time to talk. Like in many other interactions, an SMS leads to a phone call.”
But it’s not just the young kids who will diss their moms this Mother’s Day with a quick “XOXO,” is it? All you BlackBerry- and iPhone-toting professionals out there better make time for at least a handwritten Hallmark or a dozen roses on Sunday. Don’t forget your mother is not afraid to pick up her rotary dial telephone and keep you in conversation for hours about the weather and your father’s snoring.