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Different Ways to Communicate Via Your Smartphone

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Different Ways to Communicate Via Your Smartphone

Smartphones do a world of good for people who have them. Not only do they help you access important information when you’re away from your computer, but they are also (obviously) great ways to communicate. But what methods can you use to communicate with your smartphone?

Phone

Different Ways to Communicate Via Your Smartphone

Of all the examples of how you can communicate with people using your smartphone, using it as a phone is among the oldest methods. And depending on how and why you want to communicate with someone, it may be the most ideal method to use. While text messaging, email, etc. are beneficial for quick communication, they are not exactly the most personal method either, are they? If you want to communicate with friends and family, for instance, talking to them over the phone helps you better communicate how you feel during the chat. Much better than using emojis or just typing out how you feel.

Internet

This is kind of a catch-all, but the Internet as a whole is one of the easiest methods by which to keep in contact with people, including email, social media, and chat clients. One of the biggest downsides of using the Internet to keep in contact with people, however, is that it does have some limitations, especially if you use more intensive methods. If you don’t have access to Wi-Fi, you thus have to have data. And on data, some things are going to be more costly to use than others. For example, email or chat clients are relatively less intensive on your data. Meanwhile, if you’re in a voice or video chat over the Internet, you may find that you run out of data quickly (unless you have a lot of data or an unlimited plan).

Email

The Internet is an amazing tool, and there are more methods by which to communicate than we can properly count. One of the most common methods, and one of the oldest methods on computers, is email. While newer methods have emerged and gained popularity, email is still a vitally important method of communication. Not necessarily for one-on-one communication (though that’s still important), but also for correspondence between employees and management at your job.

More modern methods of communication are also more difficult for some people to use; as such, there is a benefit to sticking with email for communication purposes as well. Additionally, you will likely need email for various websites on which you have an account.

Social Media

Social media is a favorite communication method for people of all ages, and some of the most popular social media websites include Facebook and Twitter. These two websites have wildly different communities, as well as methods of communication. Both are predicated around sharing content, though Twitter is considered a more open method of communication. Comparatively, Facebook is more meant for interactions between friends.

Chat Clients

Chat clients are by no means even close to the most common methods of communication on smartphones, but there are certain demographics that gravitate toward them. For example, Discord is arguably one of the biggest chat clients out there right now and is often used for young people, particularly gamers (the target demographic of the owner of the chat client). Most communication over Discord happens over text chat, although you can also use voice and video. Skype is a similar option to Discord, although the two services are directed at different audiences.

Different Ways to Communicate Via Your Smartphone

Text Messaging

Text messaging is, by far, the most ideal method for a ton of smartphone users, mainly younger smartphone users. This makes a lot of sense; after all, text messaging is the easiest method to keep in contact with people. It’s also relatively noncommittal, where you can come and go from a conversation as you please, unlike a phone call. With a phone call, you may feel like you have to be tethered to the call, which may prevent you from doing important things (or even unimportant things).

Using 2 way sms communication is also a solid way to have a conversation without whatever you’re doing disrupting the other person in the conversation. For example, if you’re playing a video game or watching a movie, the last thing you want to do is stop for a conversation, or disrupt the other party in the process.

One of the big issues people face when using text messaging, however, is the cost. While the cost of an individual text message is negligible, if you are someone who texts a lot, it adds up, and fast. Unlimited texting used to be considerably cheaper; however, as time has gone on, providers either dropped the service or made it prohibitively expensive. This is despite the fact that the cost to the provider of a text message is extremely low. According to a 2010 CNN article, a single text message has a markup of 6,500%, with the cost being only 1/3 of a cent, compared to 20-30 cents at the time.