Canadians go crazy for text messaging
Posted by Source: calgaryherald.com
According to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, Canadians have truly embraced the medium of text messaging, having sent 35.3 billion texts in 2009 – an increase of around 70% from 2008. That’s 122 million text messages per day!
Apparently, this has also birthed a new set of vocabulary to do with texting – most infamously sexting, meaning to send X-rated messages, images and videos from phone to phone.
Also added to the new texting lexicon are portmanteaus like drexting (drinking and texting), chexting (cheating on your significant other through text messages), brexting (breaking up with your partner via text), wexting (walking and texting), and perhaps my favourite, fexting (fake texting on your phone in public to avoid looking like a loner, or to avoid talking to somebody).
Most of these words have been invented due to the sharp rise in text message popularity, and will most likely fall out of use soon enough. I’m pretty sure “sexting” will survive, however, especially following the recent revelations with Tiger Woods.
I still prefer talking face-to-face, but clearly I’m falling behind…