[00:00.00] When Neil Papworth sent the first text message from his computer to a colleague's mobile phone on the 3rd of December 20 years ago, he didn't wait for a response. In those days it wasn't possible to send a message from a phone. But the spread of mobile technology, combined with the cheapness and brevity of texts, ensured that they became a global phenomenon, changing language in the process. In the past year though, in a number of countries including the United States and Britain, the volume of text messages has fallen slightly for the first time. The SMS has been hit by the free messaging alternatives available on smartphones.

When Neil Papworth sent the first text message from his computer to a colleague's mobile phone on the 3rd of December 20 years ago, he didn't wait for a response. In those days it wasn't possible to send a message from a phone. But the spread of mobile technology, combined with the cheapness and brevity of texts, ensured that they became a global phenomenon, changing language in the process. In the past year though, in a number of countries including the United States and Britain, the volume of text messages has fallen slightly for the first time. The SMS has been hit by the free messaging alternatives available on smartphones.