Why is Philippines the " TEXT" messaging capital of the world?

The Philippines has been called the "TEXT" capital of the world due to the large volume of Short Messaging System (SMS) traffic exchange in the country.

(file photo)

It has been estimated that the number of cellular phone subscribers in the Philippines reached over twenty-three million and is still growing at a rapid rate.

The Philippines has also been called the social media capital of the world because most of the social media users have an extraordinarily high usage time of about four hours per day.

So, what makes texting immensely popular among Filipino?

Because of the highly social nature of Philippine culture and the affordability of SMS compared to voice calls, SMS usage shot up. Filipinos used texting not only for social messages but also for political purposes, as it allowed the Filipinos to express their opinions on current events and political issues.

Text messaging first appeared as a free feature of the mobile phone service and because Filipinos love a bargain, it became a craze. And it became even hotter, even now that the text messaging service is no longer free. But P1 per text message is still ridiculously cheap.

Apparently, Filipinos send out as much as four hundred million text messages on a regular day.

So, if you are planning a romantic dinner with your Filipino partner tonight, do not expect an evening of stimulating conversation!