I asked if people chose iPhone for the blue bubbles elsewhere a couple days ago, and while there was some good discourse on that post, the blue bubbles definitely also came up as a reason.

In my experience, when people find out my texts are green, they oftentimes would rather switch to a different platform altogether like Instagram or just not text at all.

Is this actually a deal-breaker in friendships out there?

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[–] 142 points 3 years ago (29 children)

I think this must be a cultural thing because no one in the UK sends SMS messages. Everyone just uses WhatsApp or signal or telegram. I'm android and have literally never had anyone mention the colour of my bubble. I didn't know this was a thing!

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  • [–] 101 points 3 years ago (16 children)

    I think it’s mostly an US thing. The rest of the world has moved away from SMS.

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  • [–] 33 points 3 years ago (8 children)

    It's mostly a US thing because Android is the standard pretty much everywhere except the US.

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  • [+] -8 points 3 years ago (3 children)
  • [–] 12 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    I use SMS in Denmark with people I don't know personally. Apps like Telegram or WhatsApp aren't common here (yet) unfortunately.

    Everyone has Facebook and uses Messenger. The absolute worst of all the choices..

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (2 children)

    I would never install any of the Meta shit apps no matter what. I quit FB in 2017 and never looked back

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    I've tried many times to convert my non-techy friends but it's impossible.

    It's hard to argue with "literally everyone I know uses Messenger".

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    Well i went the hard route of just uninstalling Whatsapp and FB, they know how to reach me and can call if need to be.

    A big advantage is i can get excited when they show me their vacation pics again and its not the i have already seen those pics on insta/fb.

    Its a bold move and you may feel a bit left out ( i felt like that) but over time you get used to it and it feels kinda relaxing

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  • [–] 26 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    Yeah, this is definitely a US-centric thing. Almost nobody I know (UK) uses SMS as their default, it's usually the last resort before just ringing the person.

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  • [–] 10 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    I think the only SMS messages I get are from the Doctor.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    Apart from SMS Auth and occasionally a "NEW FIRE BUD 10/10 stardawg smoke ring me" messages, apart from those SMS is dead..

    You're right on the money with this comment, what a strange country they have over there..

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    How old are you? When I studied in Scotland 2016-2020, the preferred messaging app was messenger (i.e. facebook), and I'm curious whether that has changed in the last 3 years or whether it's a different demographic.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

    no one in the UK sends SMS messages

    I do, I use stuff like WhatsApp and Discord too mainly of course, but an SMS is fast and reliable, as opposed to the others that require a decent data signal on both the sender and receiver (which is often lacking on my network unfortunately).

    Plus, I can schedule SMS messages for a particular time so as to not wake the recipient up if I want to send them a message in the middle of the night, very handy!

    Plus, I can theme my SMS app however I want, changing colours, fonts, etc, to be exactly what I like, as well as picking out an SMS app that has the features I'm looking for in the first place (I recommend Chomp). I find applications like WhatsApp to be extremely limited in this regard. Not a deal breaker, but I do love customisability and choice.

    I certainly don't use SMS anywhere near as much as Discord, but it's wonderful to have it, and I use it regularly :-D

    P.S I've wanted to use Signal for years but nobody I meet uses it :-( Such a shame, it seems neat!

    P.P.S Telegram looks neat too, unfortunately again the adoption with people I know is strangely just 100% furries and nobody else, so I stick to the client that everybody uses rather than having a bunch of them installed (Discord & occasionally WhatsApp).

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    Fair enough! Maybe it depends on where you live, too. My parents live in rural Cornwall so if I send an SMS they might not get it for a few days (no signal where they live) but their WiFi is good so they'll definitely get a WhatsApp (or other) message.

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