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15+ Insightful Texting vs Calling Statistics for 2023
Home15+ Insightful Texting vs Calling Statistics for 2023

15+ Insightful Texting vs Calling Statistics for 2023

Hristina Nikolovska
Hristina Nikolovska
February 16th, 2023
Editor: 
Nikola Djordjevic
Fact Checker: 
Nikola Djordjevic
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There are people allergic to phone calls, and texting is the only way you ever “hear” from them. There are others you keep telling that they don’t have to call you multiple times a day, and sometimes a simple text would do. These texting vs calling statistics cover both these extreme types of people and everyone in between. Check out the data below to find out who prefers calls, who prefers texts, and why someone would have a preference in the first place.

Top 10 Texting vs Calling Statistics and Facts

  • 95% of Americans make phone calls in their personal life.

  • 18% of American adults respond to texts more than 10 times per day.

  • 80% of US teens quote texting among their top 3 communication channels.

  • Phone calls are the most used communication method for 52% of Silent Generation Americans.

  • The median number of text messages sent per day among US adults is 10.

  • 71% of American adults prefer phone calls when they want to share a special moment.

  • 26% of heavy texters, who send more than 51 texts per day, also make more than 31 calls per day.

  • 51% of Americans prefer texting over talking when interacting with brands.

  • Only 16% of American consumers want businesses to contact them via a phone call.

  • 48% of all consumers agree that phone calls are better than texts for complex issues.

Texting vs Calling in Everyday Life

95% of Americans make phone calls in their personal life.

According to a recent survey, more than nine out of ten Americans use phone calls, texting, and emails as means of communication in their everyday lives. However, the portion of people who use the latter two is slightly lower at 92%.

When asked to name two of their most used communication methods, texting came out on top with 72%. Surprisingly, emails were the second most cited option, with 46%, while calling was only third, with 33%, indicating that Americans prefer texting instead of calling, and a larger percentage of them even send more emails than they make calls.

(Edison Mail)

80% of US teens quote texting among their top three communication channels for chatting with friends.

Phone calls are the second most quoted communication method, cited by 69%, followed by social network sites, by 66% of US teens. Moreover, 55% of them say they text with their friends every day, while only 19% talk to them on the phone on a daily basis.

Teenage girls are more likely to text and call their friends every day than boys, according to texting vs talking statistics. Namely, 62% of girls text, and 21% call their friends every day, while 48% and 18% of the boys do the same daily.

(Pew Research)

18% of American adults respond to texts more than 10 times per day.

Furthermore, 13% of Americans respond to texts 8-10 times a day, while 19% respond to texts 4-7 times a day. The largest portion of 30% of them respond to texts 1-3 times per day, and the remaining 16% respond to text messages less than once per day.

In comparison, text vs call statistics suggest that Americans make calls at lower frequencies than texting. More precisely, just 6% make more than 10 calls, and 7% make between 8-10 calls per day. A share of 17% of American adults make 4-7 calls per day, while the lion’s share of them, or 44%, make between 1-3 phone calls. Lastly, 24% of Americans make less than one phone call per day.

(Statista)

Phone calls are the most used communication method for 52% of Silent Generation Americans.

A recent survey asked Americans to name their top two most used methods of communication, and the oldest Americans were the only ones who preferred calling instead of texting. While 52% of the respondents from the Silent Generation quoted phone calls, a smaller share of 45% cited texting.

In contrast, 67% of Baby Boomers had texting, and 48% had calling on their shortlist. Furthermore, text messages were among the most used communication methods for 80% of Gen Xers, while only 33% cited phone calls.

As expected, only 22% of Millennials quoted calling, while 74% of them opted for texting. This trend continues with Gen Z Americans, 23% of which cited phone calls, and 69% placed texting among their most used means of communication.

(Medium)

The median number of text messages sent per day among US adults is 10.

Just over a half, or 51%, of Americans send between one and ten text messages a day, while the remaining half sends a lot more. More precisely, 25% of US adults send between 11 and 50 texts, 10% send between 50 and 200, and 4% send more than 200 messages per day, or over 6,000 text messages per month.

As for calling, the average American makes and receives five phone calls per day. Only 5% of US adults say they don’t make any phone calls, and text vs phone call statistics show that the largest portion, or 44%, of Americans make one to five calls per day. Furthermore, 22% make between six and ten, 14% between 11 and 20, 5% between 21 and 30, and 6% over 30 calls per day.

(Pew Research)

26% of heavy texters, who typically send more than 51 texts per day, also make more than 31 phone calls per day.

Data indicates that users who send a large number of texts are also likely to make a large number of phone calls. This correlation can be found in the statistics on texting and calling, which show that 58% of heavy texters who send more than 51 texts per day also make more than 11 phone calls per day.

Moreover, 46% of those who text moderately, or send between 11 and 50 texts per day, make more than 11 phone calls, while the percentage drops to 28% when it comes to light texters, who send between one and ten texts per day. Finally, only 8% of Americans who don’t send text messages make more than 11 phone calls per day.

(Pew Research)

71% of American adults prefer phone calls when they want to share a special moment.

The texting vs talking on the phone preference depends on the context and what message users want to communicate. Namely, seven out of ten Americans agree that a phone call is the best way to share a special moment or important news with someone, and even 67% of Millennials, who are the least frequent callers agree with this statement.

In addition, just above half, or 51%, of American adults say they have been disappointed when such news was shared with them in a text message or an email instead of a phone call.

(PR News Wire)

Making phone calls is the most used smartphone activity for 34.4% of Americans between 56 and 67.

Text vs phone call statistics show that texting is the most used smartphone activity for 28.1%, while only 7.5% of Americans from this age group mainly use their phone for social media.

On the other hand, app usage statistics reveal that 23.1% of Americans between 19 and 34 say that texting is their most used smartphone activity, followed by social media with a 22.1% share and phone calls with 18.5%.

Lastly, social media takes priority for a whopping 39.8% of teenagers between 14 and 18, 24.1% cite texting as the smartphone activity they use the most, and only 8.1% of them say that about phone calls.

(Adestra)

Calling vs Texting in Business

51% of Americans prefer texting over speaking when interacting with brands.

Messaging vs speaking on the phone is evenly preferred (51% vs 49%) when it comes to consumer-to-business interactions, though there are some notable discrepancies.

Namely, 67% of Millennials prefer texting, while only 33% of Baby Boomers agree, and Gen Xers are somewhere in the middle, with a 55% share that prefers texting over phone calls.

(Interactions)

61% of US consumers who prefer talking on the phone with businesses over texting believe that speaking is easier than typing a message.

In addition, texting vs calling statistics from a recent survey reveal that 57% of these consumers believe that phone calls allow them to resolve their issues faster than texting, and another 54% believe that they are more effective in achieving this.

Moreover, 52% think they can express themselves better by talking on the phone, and 51% say that phone calls are less likely to cause misunderstandings than text messages.

(Interactions)

Avoiding wait times is the main reason why 39% of US consumers who text businesses instead of calling them do so.

Text messages statistics on consumers who prefer texting over phone calls to reach out to a business show that people use texting as a way to avoid waiting on hold. Additionally, 37% of these consumers say they prefer texts because they allow them to keep a record of their conversation with the company.

Moreover, 33% of them say they prefer texts because it is the way they communicate in general, 32% believe texts allow them to express themselves better, and 25% believe they allow them to resolve issues faster.

(Interactions)

48% of consumers agree that phone calls are better than texts for complex issues.

Text vs phone call statistics reveal that there are situations in which consumers prefer phone calls regardless of their general preference. For example, 44% of Americans prefer speaking over texting if they need extra support, and 43% would rather talk than text when they have an important question or issue.

However, data also shows that 94% of customers have been frustrated when communicating with a company using their voice. Having to repeat themselves is the most commonly faced frustration, cited by 52% of them, followed by waiting for a live agent and not being able to bypass the IVR system, cited by 49% and 47% of consumers in a recent call vs text survey.

(Interactions)

30.25% of US consumers use phone calls, while 26.5% use texts to contact brands.

Statistics by generation show that a larger percentage of Baby Boomers, or 32%, use phone calls vs 22% who use texting to contact brands. An equal percentage of 29% of Gen X consumers say they use both phone calls and texting when contacting brands.

Millennials are the only age group with a larger share of 30% of consumers that text vs 29% that call brands. Interestingly, calling vs texting statistics reveal that a larger percentage of 31% of Gen Zers use phone calls, while 25% use texts for this purpose.

(Statista)

Only 16% of American consumers want businesses to contact them via phone call.

While phone calls are their favorite method to reach a business, it turns out Americans don’t like it when companies are calling them. The vast majority, or 70% of US consumers, prefer businesses to contact them by email, and 44% prefer receiving text messages from brands.

Moreover, data on calling vs texting customers show that a larger percentage, or 34%, of consumers, prefer to be contacted by social media, and the smallest portion, or 16%, prefer phone calls.

(Statista)

39% of businesses are using texting as a method of communication.

Small business statistics reveal that 62.4% of the organizations that use texting as a communication method are SMBs. Another 19.8% belong to the mid-market, and only 17.8% are enterprise-level organizations. The largest percentage of 63% of companies use texts for scheduling appointments and reminders, while 44% use them for customer service and support.

(Message Desk)

The Summary

When looking at the calling vs texting preference, it’s somewhat expected that older people prefer calling over texting. It turns out, however, that a larger percentage of people prefer phone calls over texts, though they text more frequently than they make calls.

Phone calls are reserved for special moments, and for more casual conversations, texts are enough. When it comes to communicating with brands, consumers prefer to call businesses with an issue or a question but would like to receive a text when the company reaches out to them.

FAQs on Texting vs Calling Statistics

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Sources:

Contributors

Hristina Nikolovska
Writer
An internship in a digital marketing agency during her freshman year of university got Tina into content. A decade later, she’s utilizing her educational background in English and knack for research to craft website content on crypto and ensure readers are fully informed. When she’s not investigating the crypto market and expanding her knowledge, you’ll find her randomly roaming cities and sunny coasts all over the world.