SMS, or short message service if you want to get non-abbreviative, has outgrown adolescence and celebrates its 20th birthday today. That’s right, it has been TWENTY years since the very first text message was sent – from English engineer Neil Papworth to a Vodafone employee who didn’t have the means to reply at the time (and probably had terrible reception anyway).
The monumental text at the centre of this occasion simply read “Merry Christmas” (in those halcyon days before Christmas would be abbreviated to ‘Xmas’ by text message, if not to a single-character Christmas Tree emoji). With those two words transmitted electronically from computer to phone, a whole new method of communication was born: an expensive addiction for flirty teens, a compelling distraction for drivers, and a means for bitchy confessionals to accidentally be transmitted to the person you were actually talking about, not to.
HPPY 20TH BDAY 2 U SMS! :))) x
In celebration of SMS messaging, we’ve taken a look at five ways this generous mode of communication has made the world a better place:
Chat Abbreviations
Originally used as a means to make the most of the twitter-esq 160 character limit of early text messages, people cut words down, removed vowels and sometimes added symbols to pack as much punch into their message as possible. Dis den led 2 sum ppl typin lyk di$, which was kind of ridiculous and vom-provoking. Some of these abbreviations, namely the LOLs, OMGs and WTFs of the world, have since reduced their way into our hearts and have been adopted into every day vernacular. Srsly.
Sexting
Officially added to the dictionary this year, sexting is primarily the act of sending sexually explicit messages and/or, more recently, photographs between mobile phones (as if you didn’t already know, you dirty dog!) According to Wikipedia however, there’s a whole range of terminology used in sexting you may not be familiar with, like TDTM (Talk Dirty To Me) and MWTJ (Mum Wants To Join). Riiiight.
Equal parts thrilling and terrifying, this whole new genre of sex appears to be favored particularly by elite sportspeople, with various scandals making headlines in the past featuring the twiddling thumbs of Shane Warne and David Beckham. Separately.
Autocorrect
Like inconvenience to incontinence, sodium to sodomy, this relatively modern texting feature manages to transform messages into things you never ever meant to say, always in the most LOL-worthy ways possible. Implemented as a supposed improvement to SMS, this often hindering feature has spawned a whole culture of sharing screen-capped fails which transpire courtesy of said autocorrect, for which we are ever grateful.
Observe:
Emoticons
From the humble <3 to the more complex ¯_( ‘_’ )_/¯, words are no longer necessary.
Evidence of Lost Nights
Forgot what you did last night? Chances are you probably inebriatedly texted someone about it. Not that you always want to remember, the ever-helpful nature of your text history can usually explain a thing or two. Just like the internet stockpiles of autocorrect fails, drunken texts have captured and immortalised nights-out for the world to not only see but also collectively remember in the morning.
Exhibit A:
