Germans Send 2.8 Billion Daily Chat Messages
- COLOGNE, Germany (DPA) — Germans are rapidly embracing chat applications like WhatsApp, Signal, and Threema for daily communication, according to a new market study by the VATM, an...
- the total volume of these messages is staggering,with an estimated 2.83 billion sent daily.
- While email remains a relevant communication tool,its growth is less pronounced.
germans Increasingly Favor Chat Apps Over SMS, Study finds
Study: Daily chat messages reach 2.8 billion.
Instant Messaging surges in Popularity
COLOGNE, Germany (DPA) — Germans are rapidly embracing chat applications like WhatsApp, Signal, and Threema for daily communication, according to a new market study by the VATM, an internet industry association.The study projects that residents of Germany will send an average of 34 instant messages per day this year.
the total volume of these messages is staggering,with an estimated 2.83 billion sent daily. This represents a 5% increase compared to the previous year and more than double the 1.35 billion daily messages recorded in 2018, the VATM reports.
Email Usage Also Climbs,But at Slower Pace
While email remains a relevant communication tool,its growth is less pronounced. The study indicates a daily average of 19 emails per resident, a nearly 3% increase from 2024. Notably,in 2016,email and chat message volumes were nearly equal. Today, instant messaging far surpasses email in popularity.
SMS Fades into Obscurity
The traditional Short Message Service (SMS) is rapidly declining.SMS usage is now so minimal that VATM statistics only report it on a weekly basis. On average, a German resident sends 12 SMS messages per week, approximately half the 2021 figure (22 per week) and about a third of the 2016 volume (35 per week).
The Future of SMS: Uncertain
When asked about the potential extinction of SMS, Andreas Walter, a consulting company Dialog Consult analyst and author of the study, declined to provide a specific timeline. Walter noted that SMS retains advantages for certain applications. “I can reach anyone I have the number from,” Walter said.He added that chat apps require installation, and SMS offers guaranteed delivery, which is useful for applications like banking confirmations.
Generational Shift Drives Chat App Boom
Walter attributes the surge in chat app usage to a generational shift.”Young people call less and send more messages; they send themselves more voice messages and no longer make calls together,” Walter explained. Voice messages are included in the instant messaging statistics. Walter predicts continued growth in instant messaging,noting,”News can be short and scarce,you can send a lot of things a day – in the future there will be enormous increases.”