Facebook Releases New Data on the Growth and Adoption of Messaging [Infographic]

In order to mark the 25th anniversary of the SMS text message (remember thumbing them in on your old Nokia 5110?), Facebook has commissioned a global study of messaging use in order to provide some additional perspective on how messages are now being used, and the role they play in the modern interactive process.

And the data – incorporating responses from almost 10,000 respondents – reveals some interesting findings, including:

• 80% of adults (age 19-64) and 9% of teens (age 13-18) across the globe message every day
• 77% of people over the age of 55 use emojis to communicate, while more than half (53%) use GIFs
• 67% of people are messaging more than they did two years ago

Facebook’s been working to promote Facebook Messenger as more than just a direct messaging channel, building out its business options to help provide additional functionality. And with 1.3 billion users, it’s clear to see why they’re keen to capitalize on that interest. These findings underline that there is significant potential there, if Facebook can re-frame messaging as more than just an SMS-like tool.

Facebook’s included an overview of their findings in the below infographic – you can read the full ‘Messages that Matters’ report here.