Social media and Instant messaging apps aren’t taking over multiple methods of communication and advertising. It already has taken over, big time. There are new programs seem to be released daily that claim to make our communications with friends and companies quicker, easier, and more efficient. With all the different platforms used on phones, tablets, and computers, we need to be able to use a program that allows all these platforms and operating systems to work together as well as possible.
SMS, or short message service, is the beloved texting service that those who got cell phones before smart phones took over, used and still use. Texting has modernized with smart phones, allowing us to send pictures, videos, and emotionalize our comments with emoticons. WhatsApp and WeChat is a newer messaging app that allows more texting capabilities with photos, videos, and open sharing for more than one person at a time, like most social media platforms. There are reasons that old school programs live on and remain popular throughout all of the newer programs and apps.
6 reasons: Why whatsApp won’t take the place of SMS?
1. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
Texting and instant messaging works. People have been texting for years and texting capabilities have grown. There is nothing wrong with the capabilities of messaging and texting for those who rely on it.
2. Privacy is still priority to a lot of people
There are many reasons why a social media site works for so many people and businesses. Being able to reach thousands and millions of people at once is a tremendous asset to any marketing and advertising campaign. With so many people following one person and their posts, there are that many more people who want to exploit them. Hacking is possible no matter what, but the risk goes down the less one puts themselves out there. One on one conversations are still important to a lot of people.
3. Bells and whistles aren’t always wanted
When using new apps and communication pathways like whatsApp, a lot of people find out they don’t use nearly all of the capabilities of the programs. It is fun to mess around with new technology but after the Christmas morning feeling is gone, people go back to only what they really need.
4. Simple sells
There are many types of people and for more people than one would think, simple sells. A lot of people have no want or need for being able to reach thousands of people and businesses with what they are thinking at the moment.
5. I Can’t always turn internet data ON
New messaging apps requires internet connectivity and the same app on the receiver side but Nobody likes to turn the internet ‘ON’ whole day because it eat your phone’s battery. Many people may say it allow us to send thousands of messages if we have internet connections which is not possible in SMS. But if we think twice, we will find that FREE things causes a lot of problem .. we can’t even read ten messages and whole day our phone rings and we have to keep it on silent mode at home or anywhere.
6. Timing
Texting will always be a top way to communicate. With the onset of cellphones, those with the 2″x1″ screen, simple texting was high-tech. As cell phones modernized and became smart, a lot of people stay with the simple phone capabilities of texting and messaging to 1 or 2 people at a time. There is a big age range of people who do stay with what works and will be sticking with simplicity until they no longer need a cell phone. Those born into the generation of smart phones and the current social media, will likely stick to what they know also.
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But whatsapp already took over texting almost entirely.
1) SMS are inefficient in usage and require extra costs (like SMS flat or the general price) while most people already have internet flatrates nowadays.
2) I believe SMS to be a lot less secure than WhatsApp messages nowadays. As you said, older technology.
3) It’s a feature. WhatsApp is faster and more flexible (offering group conversations and a better built-in contacts management) while at the same time offering many more features – you don’t have to use them but they’re free so why not?
4) In case of instant messaging this point of yours makes no sense at all. SMS is simple, WhatsApp is simple. For some, WhatsApp might even be more simple. Install app, enter phone number an the rest is intuitive. Thanks to connecting with FB and stuff you don’t even need your personal yellow pages anymore.
5) ‘Internet data’ is being received by your phone through the same way as SMS – over your phone company’s wireless radio network, also responsible for receiving calls. That means leaving your mobile data on for whatsapp only is barely costing any energy at all. And you’re saving money for utilizing your already available internet flat instead of paying for SMS (flatrate).
To the phone ring point: Nowadays you can easily control exactly what is allowed to ring and what isn’t – on every modern phone OS and even in WhatsApp itself. You can even turn off notifications for certain contacts only – something you can’t do for SMS. They always make noise.
6) Yes, many old people will stick to SMS simply because they know it. Give it 10 or 20 years and these people are either gone or caught in the wave that is the instant messenger.
CONCLUSION: WhatsApp does everything SMS can do. And more. And better. And for less money. Same goes for Skype, FB messenger or whatever you want to use – with WhatsApp being probably the most useful of these tools. Today the SMS’ only use is to contact people who really don’t have other means of communicating without calling – basically the older generations. And it will remain that way. SMS will never vanish, it’ll just be the flintstone you use when your lighter doesn’t work right now.
“2) I believe SMS to be a lot less secure than WhatsApp messages nowadays. As you said, older technology”
This statement is the typical stupidity flag.
SMS is impossible to intercept, duplicate and replicate unless you intend to take down the entire mobile network. It is encrypted to military specifications, and has never been broken, with the exception of intercepting on the handset. So WhatsApp cannot provide anything near the security and privacy that SMS guarantee. If your phone works, SMS will work. SMS is carried on the network that ensures that you are connected to the mobile network – not on the voice band but the signalling band.
On the data band – such as GPRS, things are relatively safe from hacking, but on the Internet it is very easy to intercept and pry. The tcp/ip was made to enable tapping, while the GSM network was designed to be robust enough for wartime use by the NATO forces, and can still be used by police and the military without any fear of others tapping in to what they say. The only way that it is possible to intercept is to make a new network of your own, and provide “service” for free to everyone, or that the handsets have code that expose the encryption keys used, and then the base station can tap. The encryption keys are kept on the SIM and there is just one manufacturer of handset that copies the SIM to handset memory, thus violating the GSM security. The rest needs kernel privileges to access the SIM – and if you muck around with the signalling messages to intercept SMS, you risk taking down the entire network – the HLR will force a reset. Good Luck Hacking – your operator will catch your vile attempts quickly.
Well explained . Thanks 🙂