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Sore Thumbs and Texting

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the my-wrists-are-killing-me dept.

Ant writes "ABC News reports that text messaging, once seen as a way to send a short message without running up the expense of a cellular telephone/cell phone call, has become so popular that it poses its own public health problem: sore thumbs. This comes from a survey and warning put out by Virgin Mobile, one of the largest cellular service providers in Great Britain. Virgin reports that 93 million text messages are sent every day in the United Kingdom (U.K.). One estimate for the United States (U.S.), whose population is five times as large, is 700 million text messages a year. "

2 of 170 comments (clear)

  1. Poor Filipinos by Eightyford · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In the Philippines where the average user sent 2,300 messages in 2003, making it the world's most avid SMS nation.
    SOURCE

    --
    Religion for nerds. Stuff that really matters
  2. Re:What? by garcia · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My text messages cost 10 cents per message. I'd have to talk for over 2 minutes to cost more than a text message and I can sure relay more information in that two minutes than most can in a text message and even get feedback during that time. Text messages have their uses but being cheaper isn't one of them. Besides, I thought the point of text messages was to annoy others trying to watch a movie in a movie theater.

    That's you. T-mobile's Sidekick data plan includes unlimited SMS. Because I use SMS so frequently my wife, my father, and several friends have also picked up unlimited SMS plans to be able to contact me.

    I wish that *more* people relied on SMS rather than making a phone call. It would keep the noise down in public places that people shouldn't be on the phone in, such as mass transit.