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Text messaging has quickly become the new communication medium of the twentieth century, piling up billions of these tiny little messages across the cellular networks worldwide. I can honestly say I don't see all the glamor in pounding away at my miniature keyboard until my fingers bleed, but I can definitely see some advantages over traditional channels of communication. In the year 2000 cellular text message gateway providers reported that approximately 17 billion messages were sent world wide via Short Message Service (SMS), in 2001 the number rose to 250 billion, doubling by 2004. Each year, especially in countries like Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, the SMS communication forum has grown to such an extent that a the term "texting" is as commonplace as the act of walking.

There are clear and present advantages and disadvantages to using this new age communication, so I will break down the pros and cons of text messaging.

Pros:

1.)Cheaper alternative form of communication. In some countries air-time and long distance rates are exponentially higher than the cost of a single text messaging, making it much more affordable to have a text conversation over a traditional voice call.

2.) Convenience comes in second, since SMS type messages do have a great deal of added advantages over voice calling or emailing. I will break down my points on this subject.

You can do text messaging without disturbing others around you, helpful during movies, while at work, and anywhere else where voice calls may not be permitted.
Text messages aren't going to wake anyone up, and they are conveniently laying in wait until you turn on your phone the next morning.
Two-way conversations can be quick without the hassle of having to worry how to politely end the conversation.
Text messages can be saved; so if you forgot the address or the particular subject matter, you can simply pull up the last message you received.

3.) Productivity can really get a boost from a business standpoint. Almost everyone now carries a cellular device of some kind, whether it is a PDA, Blackberry, or a straight cell-phone. so text messaging can be an effective form of mass communication. An example of this technology is commonly used by large companies who use -Telelocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP)- access messaging, which is simply a software application that relays SMS messages to anyone with either a pager or cell-phone. This type of text message can alert a large number of employees of a shortage

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