y do tngrs luv 2 txt msg?

“Text messaging” — using a mobile phone to send a message — has changed how teenagers use wireless phones to communicate and coordinate. While the media reports rapid growth in text messaging, less is known about why teenagers have adopted it. In this paper, we report findings from a study of teenagers’ text messaging practices. Specifically, we show that teenagers use text messages to: arrange and adjust times to talk, coordinate with friends and family, and chat. Moreover, we argue that the reasons teenagers find text messaging quick, cheap, and easy to use, are grounded in their social context. Finally, we show that teenagers encounter three problems when text messaging: understanding evolving language, determining intent from content, and addressing messages.