I’m interested in these communication pattern shifts, especially in terms of my own research areas (and as a fan of SMS over WhatsApp!):
Juliana Piskorz, The Times, RIP WhatsApp — the text message is back (paywalled) “To give you some context, WhatsApp is now by far the most popular way to message in the world, with more than two billion users and 70 per cent of Brits aged 16-64 chatting on it, while iMessage accounts for a lowly 30 per cent of messenger app usage. But more pertinently, the number of iMessage users worldwide jumped by about 20 per cent between 2021 and 2022 and continues to rise. After all, what could be less cool than using the same messaging system as Boris Johnson et al?”
Also: Matthew Strudwick, Mail, The death of WhatsApp? How a generation of texters are switching back to ‘chic’ old-fashioned SMS as pressure to be constantly contactable leaves them with ‘anxiety’. “People are turning their backs on WhatsApp and returning to old-fashioned ‘chic’ SMS as the pressure to be constantly contactable is leaving them with ‘anxiety’.”
