ĦĦĦĦLANZHOU, March 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Jia Li, a white collar worker in the
northwestern province of Gansu, received four short messages on her mobile phone
-- and made prompt replies to each in just five minutes.
ĦĦĦĦ"This has become an important means of communication with my friends," she
said as her fingers worked nimbly on the keypad. "Infact, we cannot do without
short messages these days."
ĦĦĦĦThe short message service has drawn a growing number of mobile phone
subscribers in recent years, particularly young people who are always leading
fashions and seeking out novelties.
ĦĦĦĦLatest figures released by China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII)
show China has the world's largest mobile phone ownership with 206 million
subscribers -- or 16 in every 100 people owning mobile phones.
ĦĦĦĦIn 2002, China's mobile phone users sent over 90 billion text messages, as
against 18.9 billion in 2001 and one billion in 2000.
ĦĦĦĦ"In addition, many subscribers are downloading more personalized ring tones,
screen savers and jokes from the Internet, which they send around on the
cell phone," said an MII source.
ĦĦĦĦA new survey has found that 40 percent of urban Chinese subscribers aged
between 18 and 60 have used the service. The proportion is higher among males,
the highly-educated and those under 35.
ĦĦĦĦFor young people like Jia Li, letters, phone calls and even e-mails
have lost out to short messages, a faster, cheaper and more convenient means
of communication.
ĦĦĦĦIn the capital, Beijing, for example, it costs 0.40 yuan per minute to make
or to receive a local call on the cell phone, but only 0.10 yuan to send a text
message -- and no charge for the recipient.
ĦĦĦĦTo send a short message is also believed to be safer than a conversation on
the cell phone, as there is still controversy over radiation levels and health
risks.
ĦĦĦĦ"Few people my age do not know how to send a short message," Jia said. "You
can do it virtually anytime -- lying in bed, sitting on a bus or wandering along
the street."
ĦĦĦĦThe college graduate bought a stylish cell phone last year with her first
month's salary. "I myself send at least five daily, sometimes over 50. I've also
subscribed to weather forecasts, stock prices and advertisements for upcoming
concerts and movies,"she said.
ĦĦĦĦIn Beijing, some quick-witted young people have even become professional
short message writers, creating humorous text messages on websites for the
netizens to choose from.
ĦĦĦĦBut just like the Internet, short messages are also believed to have their
side effects. Many parents worry that messages carrying fraudulent and
pornographic content may harm young children.
ĦĦĦĦWang Xiang, a member with the country's top advisory body, the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference, recently called on the authorities
to tighten control over short message services and when necessary, draft laws to
better regulate the sector. Enditem
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