Text Messaging: It's Not Just for Kids

For dads and kids looking for a new way to say "Happy Mother's Day" this year, take note that text messaging is growing in popularity, especially among moms. No longer just for kids, the first annual T9 Texting Outlook Survey found that 30 percent of moms send text messages from their cell phones.

As cell phones have become a mainstay for on-the-go moms, more and more moms are turning to text messaging over voice conversations for quick messages to check in with friends and family. In fact, among moms who text message, 65 percent of the messages they send are for fun or social reasons, while 28 percent are to coordinate family schedules and errands.

So who is mom's favorite texting buddy? It's dad, who receives the most text messages from 30 percent of cell phone-toting moms. Meanwhile, 29 percent of moms send their friends the most messages. One in five moms (18 percent) send the most text messages to their kids.

For those new to text messaging, here are a few tips to get started, and to help the whole family communicate in a faster and more fun way.

Be Courteous: Reply to text messages you receive in a timely manner and be sure you're texting the right person in your phone book. The T9 Texting Outlook Survey found that 69 percent of texting moms are in favor of a guide to good text etiquette.

Use Text Shorthand: To save time when sending text messages, use shorthand and texting lingo, such as CU L8R (see you later) and GR8 (great). While kids were the early adopters of shorthand, 76 percent of cell phone-savvy moms say they use text lingo to speed up their messaging.

Express Your Feelings: Emoticons, such as smileys, can help texters better share their feelings. Use :) to say you're happy, or :( to say you're not.

Don't Use All Caps: Typing a text message in all capital letters will appear as though you are shouting at the recipient, and should be avoided, unless you mean to shout at the recipient!

Watch Your Spelling: It makes less of an impact on mom to learn that you "lovf" rather than "love" her.

For a fast text messaging experience, T9 predictive text software anticipates the word that a user is entering as they press a key just once for each letter. For example, typing "mom" requires just three keystrokes (6-6-6) instead of five when tapping out letters individually. And "mother" can be reached in six steps instead of 12.

For users new to predictive text entry on cell phones, check out www.textfast.T9.com for a fun crossword puzzle trainer game.

Courtesy of ARA Content