Youth Apps

The urban youth choose free mobile apps over text messages Apps inspire youth to communicate creatively Traditional cost-incurring SMS seems to have taken the backseat over the past few years with the massive growth of internet calling, and mobile and PC applications that allow free messaging. With mobile internet, 3G, and free apps becoming common on the now-ubiquitous smartphones, the tech-savvy generation is moving on to more “fun” ways of communicating. The former DGM, Mobile Services (Operations and Installations) at BSNL, S. M. Hegde, admits that SMS usage has decreased. He said, “My son is also using mobile apps and free services rather than SMS.” A recent study by research firm Informa said that during 2012, around 19 billion messages were sent each day via chat apps, while SMS texts numbered 17.6 billion daily. However, Mr. Hegde says there is hardly any revenue impact on telecom service providers as income from SMS has merely shifted to data usage. ...