ASSOCHAM carried out a study on “Communication patterns of young India” under the aegis of ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF) during January 2011 to April 2011 in the cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Patna, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Jaipur. ASSOCHAM representatives interacted with as many as 2,000 youngsters (around 200 in each city). The sample included almost an equal number of males and females in the age group of 12-20 years.
Releasing findings of ASSOCHAM study, Mr. D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM said, “Sending and receiving text messages has become primary means of communication, so much so that excessive texting has become an obsession amongst youngsters.”
“But, excessive texting is leading to a number of problems for our kids as they are developing problems like insomnia, depression, lack of eating, isolation etc. Besides, according to reports of chamber’s analysis prolonged engagement with such an activity can lead to diseases like brain tumor, infertility etc.”, added Mr. Rawat.
Youngsters in Delhi-NCR emerged on top with almost 70 per cent of them saying that they send between 100-125 text messages daily and over 3,000 texts each month. 15 per cent said that they send/receive between 75-100 texts daily, 10 per cent respondents said that they send/receive over 50 text messages per day and a meagre 5 per cent respondents said that they exchange around 30-40 texts with their entourage.
According to ASSOCHAM study, in Delhi-NCR 55 per cent of girls send/receive around 100-125 text messages per day. Of the remaining, 20 per cent girls said that they exchange around 80-100 text messages daily, 15 per cent said that they daily send/receive around 40-50 texts everyday and 10 per cent said that they exchange around 10-15 texts each day.
Around 45 per cent of boys said that they exchange 100 plus text messages with their folks almost everyday. 25 per cent said that they send/receive around 75-100 texts daily, whereas, 20 per cent said they send/receive around 50-70 messages every day. Merely 10 per cent exchange less than 50 messages daily, says the survey.
Youngsters in Delhi spend around Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,500 every month only on SMS packages considering text messaging a preferred mode of communication as it can be carried out under the nose of their parents, teachers, guardians and other authority figures, says ASSOCHAM survey. Besides, it is still a more economical form of communication.
Of the 200 youngsters interviewed in Delhi, 85 per cent said that they own a cell phone and rest 15 per cent either use their parents’ or their siblings’ cell phones to interact with their friends via text messages.
70 per cent of school/college going kids in Delhi-NCR said that they exchange 5-10 text messages with their class fellows during a typical class, even though usage of cell phones was prohibited.
Around 60 per cent of youngsters in Delhi-NCR admitted that they text while driving, considering it as multi-tasking. ASSOCHAM in its analysis has found that risk of an accident exceeds sharply surpassing dangers of other driving distractions. Besides, the chamber in its analysis has also found that risk of a car crash or a collision increases by 30 times in case of texting while driving then when not texting, as drivers typically take their eyes off from the road for nearly 5 seconds to send or receive text messages.
Almost 90 per cent of those interviewed in Delhi-NCR admitted that they sleep with their cell phone lying next to them and thus, keep slightly awake most of the time during their sleep. According to chamber’s analysis, texting at the time of sleep is causing diseases like insomnia, anxiety amongst youngsters as they exchange text messages every night. Majority of respondents admitted that they are often awakened by a phone call or a text message after going to bed and the lack of sleep has been affecting their work and progress.
Around 80 per cent of youngsters in the city said that they check their phones every few seconds to see if they have received any message and due to constant fast typing on cell phone’s keypad at times they feel severe pain in area between thumb & wrist which throbs constantly.
65 per cent of respondents in Delhi-NCR said that they surf internet on their cell phones and thus, browse social-networking sites, download songs etc. instead of staying glued to their laptops, desktops for their daily internet dose.
According to the ASSOCHAM analysis, the popularity of text messaging in India has risen dramatically as compared to 2006 when a youngster on an average used to send around 5-10 text messages daily as there were not enough of cheap messaging deals provided by telecom companies back then and it has risen to almost 125 text messages per day during the course of last 5 years.
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