Thais Turn To SMS, MMS For Valentines Messages

Young people turn to new technology for Valentines messages

BANGKOK: -- Young people are expected to take more advantage of new technology than ever before to send Valentines greetings this year, with the use of text messages likely to rise 60 percent from last year's figures, according to a leading research centre.

While in the past a simple card and a bunch of flowers may have been enough, this year young people are likely to turn to text messages, multimedia messages and e-cards to express their love, the KASIKORN Research Centre (KRC) says.

Young lovers this year are predicted to send each other 40-50 million text messages on the Valentine's Day, 14 February, up 50-60 percent from last year, while the popularity of multimedia messages is set to rise 200 percent to hit around 2-3 million.

Telecommunications companies are heavily plugging their products during the Valentines season, with Voice over Internet (VOI) telephone services and audio text services joining the array of services on offer.

The research centre based its findings on a recent survey of 1,820 respondents across the country, which showed that 11.6 percent of those questioned intended to make special telephone calls on 14 February, while 6 percent would send emails or e-cards and 20.4 percent would send text and multimedia messages.

Unsurprisingly, the report found that those in the under-29 age bracket were most likely to take advantage of the latest technology to declare their love.

--TNA 2005-02-11