We Are Text Mad

Telstra reported that one in three Australians send text messages to communicate major life events.

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According to Telstra’s State of the Nation Report, 25 percent of Australians will use text messaging to announce a birth. Getting a promotion was the second most popular event Australians would announce over text, with 18 percent of Australians sending a text to their contact.
 
In addition, four in ten Aussies said that they send between 3 and 7 text messages every day to family, friends and their partner respectively. Respondents also said that they would text in many different places, including when they are by themselves to ‘look busy’ (44 percent), at the movies (34 percent), in a business meeting (21 percent) or even at a funeral, christening or wedding (15 percent).
 
Social Researcher and Futurist, Mark McCrindle said, “Telstra’s State of The Nation report reveals the uptake and influence of mobile technology on Australians, particularly texting. The fact that one in three prefer texting to other communication forms signals the natural fit of this technology to our increasingly time poor, busy lifestyles.”
 
In other texting trends, Telstra found that Australians send picture messages while travelling (44 percent), buying houses (33 percent) or at the birth of their children (33 percent).
 
But not all text messages are good. One in four Australians said they discovered their partner was cheating by reading a text message – and a further 20 per cent had accidentally sent a text meant for their partner or lover to somebody else.

Telstra Country Wide’s General Manager for Melbourne, Patrick O’Beirne said, “Texting has become an indispensable part of our everyday lives.”

Telstra also broke the research down into states, with the company finding out the following:

• West Australians send the most number of texts per day, with 31 percent saying they send 10 or more text messages a day, compared to the national average of 10 percent. West Australians are also the most text loving state in Australia – 38 percent say they prefer text over other forms of communication.
• Queenslanders are the biggest cheaters when it comes to texting – 27 percent have found out their partner was cheating through a text message compared to the national average of 22 percent. Tasmanians and West Australians were not far behind in the cheating department, with 23 percent and 22 percent respectively.
• On the other hand, NSW residents are the most savvy and careful when it comes to sending texts to a lover – only 16 percent say they’ve sent a text meant for their lover to someone else, compared to 27 percent of the less careful West Australians and 23 percent of South Australians, who do.
• Victorians announce births over text more than any other state, whereas New South Welshman are more likely to announce a promotion and Queenslanders a break-up over text.