Thirty-three years ago today, a simple, two-word message quietly kicked off a communication revolution. On this day in 1992, Neil Papworth—a 22-year-old developer and test engineer—sent the world’s very first SMS text message. Working on a team building a “Short Message Service Centre” for British telecom giant Vodafone, Papworth typed out a festive greeting from his computer: “Merry Christmas.”
The message landed on the phone of a Vodafone director who happened to be at his office Christmas party. A call soon followed, confirming that the message had gone through successfully. Ironically, the recipient couldn’t reply—the mobile phones of the time didn’t yet have keyboards capable of sending messages back. As Papworth later joked, the moment didn’t feel historic at all. Even in 2017, he admitted he only sends a handful of texts a day, calling them “fairly dull,” and avoids emojis entirely.
Despite his modest habits, Papworth became something of a pop-culture figure. The milestone message was spotlighted during the 10th and 20th anniversaries of SMS, earning him appearances in a Super Bowl commercial, a documentary, radio interviews, and even a Jeopardy! clue.
From One “Merry Christmas” to Global Phenomenon
Just a year after Papworth’s famous message, Nokia released the first cellphone capable of sending SMS directly from the device. Early texting was clunky—messages were capped at 160 characters due to bandwidth limits, and the earliest phones could only send texts within the same network. Cross-carrier texting didn’t become possible until 1999.
Once it became universal, texting took off. T9 predictive text made typing on number pads faster, and pre-paid phone plans—many of which offered free texting—made SMS a natural choice for younger users. The 160-character limit also sparked the rise of a new shorthand language full of abbreviations and acronyms that later shaped internet slang.
By 2002, the world sent more than 250 billion text messages annually. In the U.S. alone, texting exploded from 81 billion messages in 2005 to 363 billion in 2007. Before the 2010s even began, texting had overtaken phone calls as the most popular form of communication. Today, Americans send roughly 4.1 billion texts every single day.
The Downsides: “Smartphone Thumb” & Social Etiquette
Of course, such heavy texting hasn’t come without consequences. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic observed increasing cases of a repetitive strain injury dubbed “smartphone thumb.” About 20% of frequent texters report thumb pain caused by constant tapping and swiping.
The rise of texting also inspired its own rules of etiquette. The Emily Post Institute offers plenty of guidance, from avoiding ALL CAPS (it looks like shouting) to not texting when you’re engaged in face-to-face conversation. If someone can’t put their phone down long enough to speak with you? According to Emily Post—politely excuse yourself.
Texts That Go Where Few Have Gone Before
One of the most extreme text messages ever sent happened atop the world’s highest peak. In 2007, adventurer Rod Baber successfully sent a land-based mobile SMS from the summit of Mount Everest—at over 29,000 feet. His message:
“One small step for man, one giant step for mobilekind – thanks Motorola.”
From a Simple Greeting to a Cultural Staple
That first “Merry Christmas” message in 1992 may not have felt monumental at the time, but it paved the way for the way billions of people communicate every day. SMS changed how we talk, how we share news, how we maintain relationships—and even how our thumbs function.
So today, take a moment to celebrate the tiny technology that reshaped human connection, one 160-character message at a time. 📱✨