According to the survey conducted by independent telecoms analyst on the impact of social media on traditional forms of communication among UK consumers, 45% of the respondents claimed that the use of social networking sites had caused a decline in their email use. Furthermore, 40% of the respondents also claimed that social media also reduced their use of fixed voice services, 34% reported that it caused them to make fewer mobile calls and 29% said that social media has also reduced their number of text messages.
After the survey the experts initially thought that the social media is only impacting the email service, but to their surprise it is also showing negative impacts on the other services provided by the telecom providers.
The team who made the survey commented that since the younger generation is using social media more than any other group, they keep on changing their tastes and interests. They ought to do so for the sites which offer comprehensive and more effective packages, which best suites their needs. As facebook is one such site which is upgrading everyday with great innovation, teenagers are getting more attracted towards those sites. Moreover, these sites are almost accessible on almost all the phones and also offering communication of zero cost, whereas the charges for a phone call and text messaging are much higher than those. Hence people prefer to use them than any other means of communication.
This report is like a wake up call to the telecom users, and they are trying to attract the customers by providing text messaging and free minutes at much lower prices in order to defend themselves.