Wedding bells ring in lower cell bills

MUMBAI: Tired of rising mobile bills? Get married. In all probability, your bill will come down after marriage. People who are married tend to text (SMS) much less than their single counterparts. And according to a new study, the more children you have, the less you text.

The user behaviour study by mobile device management firm SmartTrust says that “children impact the way you use your phone in India. Respondents with no children are the biggest texters.” According to Tim Deluca-Smith, communications manager, SmartTrust and author of the study, the focus is at home when there are kids in the family.

For teenagers and young singles, SMS is the primary means of quick communication with their friends, batchmates and colleagues.
Among SMS users, about 71% of those with no children text daily, while only 60% of those with one child use SMS everyday. Around 54% of those with two children use text messaging daily.

There is also a direct correlation with age. As per the survey, 16-24 year olds are the most active users of SMS (at least one SMS a day). “This is largely because they are single and have no kids, while there is more pressure on time when there are children. People with one or two children are classified as moderate texters. They are aware of the technology and use it, but on a less regular basis, once a week or less,” Mr Smith told ET.

SMS remains the most popular service after voice and only 1% of Indians have never tried text messaging. The survey also reveals that Indian women are bigger texters than men. With their insatiable appetite for exchanging thoughts and pouring their hearts out, 83% women text every day as opposed to only 65% of men. However, men aged 25-34 SMS more than women.

Nearly 87% of Indians use SMS, the third highest among the 15 countries surveyed. Only China and South Korea have over 90% SMS users. And while India is adding over 6.5m subscribers every month, the low level of mobile education is hindering penetration of services beyond voice and SMS. “India reports lower-than average penetration of advanced handset features. The demand for grey market handsets and low cost of entry devices in many rural regions means that devices typically lack the functions seen on the latest models. Another factor is lack of awareness about the features available on the current device,” it says.