US text messaging down for the first time

GlobalPost

The text message may be going the way of the email in the US.

According to a new report, the average number of monthly texts sent by Americans fell for the first time in US history last quarter.

More from GlobalPost: Texting: Grammar suffering as a result, finds a new study

US cellphone customers sent an average of about 675 messages per month in the third quarter, down from around 700 per month in the quarter prior to that.

Revenues from text messaging were also down among mobile carriers last quarter for the first time in history, independent telecommunications analyst Chetan Sharma said in the report released Tuesday.

More from GlobalPost: Alaska woman falls off 60-foot cliff while texting

The reason?

More than likely it's because a growing number of Americans are carrying Internet-connected smartphones in their pockets, and use Facebook or Apple's iMessage services to communicate, CNN reported.

Text messaging exploded in popularity in the US in 2008 and had been growing steadily in recent years.

Although experts told The New York Times it's too early to tell if the decline will continue, it will likely become more pronounced as more people buy smartphones.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.