According to Nielsen data, the average number of text messages per month that U.S. mobile phone users sent and received exceeded the average number of voice calls sent and received in the second quarter of 2007. Since then, texting has continued to increase, while voice calls have continued to fall. Little disagreement exists about these general industry trends.
Reports differ concerning the average number of text messages and voice calls per U.S. mobile phone user per month. A recent Pew Internet survey (data for May 2010) found among adult cell phone users who use cell phone text messaging an average use of about 1,200 text messages per month. Recently quoted Nielsen figures, plausibly interpreted, imply 27% less text messages per month.
Reports on the average number of voice calls per U.S. mobile phone user per month differ by more. The same Pew survey found about 400 voice calls per U.S. mobile phone user per month. Recently quoted Nielsen figures are about half that level. CTIA data, in contrast, implies about 9% fewer calls per month than the Pew figure. Non-answered and busy signal calls, as well as calls reaching an answering machine or voice mail, average roughly 30% of working cell-phone numbers called. Different treatment of such calls may account for some of the difference between figures for average number of calls.
While texting has grown enormously over the past five years, the number of voice calls that U.S. mobile phone users make is still large. The best estimate, an average of 400 calls per month, amounts to about 13 calls per day. Moreover, in 2007, monthly wireless voice minutes were five times higher in the U.S. than in Europe. Even if U.S. voice minutes have fallen by 25% since then, the level is still nearly four times higher than in Europe.
The rise of text messaging points to different social features of different communication means. An online newspaper article documenting the texting revolution includes a photo timeline of telephone use. A video of three talking heads covering a subset of the information included in the article also accompanies that text. Does the rise of short video point to a video revolution and a bright future for video calls? Communicative value seems to depend on social details. The social space of communication is a propitious space for product differentiation and innovation.
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Data: U.S. mobile phone users texts and voice calls per month data comparison (Excel version)