Official figures realeased this month confirmed that we have become a nation
of text addicts

We sent 20.5 billion messages last year (the equivalent of 55 million every
day), a twentyfold increase in five years. Experts say the figure will reach
23 billion this year.

Texts overtook phone calls as the favoured means of contacting someone by mobile
last year with more than 8 out of 10 under-25s more likely to text than call.

At New Year revellers smashed the record for the most messages in a day, 111 million
in the first 24 hours of 2004.

On Valentine’s Day 76 million were sent, 6 times more than the number of cards.

The most common messages were greetings, such as for birthdays.