(BLACK PR WIRE/FAMU-TALLAHASSEE) – The days of actually talking on the phone might be coming to an end. It seems that text messages have now become the primary communication tool for young adults.

“I really find it more convenient than actually talking on the phone,” says Shanica Johnson, a 22-year-old junior at Florida A&M University. “There are times in the life of a college student where you can’t speak on the phone but you need to talk to someone and text messaging makes that possible.”

A recent study completed by the Nielson Company shows that text message usage among young adults has increased dramatically. According to the report, the average mobile user ages 18-24 uses 1,707 text messages a month. This number is up from three years ago, when the same age group averaged just 790 text messages per month. During the same period of time, the voice usage among young adults decreased significantly.

In early 2009, the 18-24-year-old demographic averaged over 1,000 minutes in made calls per month. By late 2010, that number dropped to below 700 for the same age group. Young adults aren’t the only ones who are changing their mobile habits. The same study showed these categories are more skewed among teenagers with 13-17-year-olds averaging close to 3,500 text messages a month.

Nielsen attributes this striking change in mobile usage to users recognizing “the functionality and convenience of SMS, considering it easier and faster than voice calls.” Matt Dunham, a senior at Florida State University, agrees with the Nielsen study. “Texting is just faster and way easier than having to make a call,” said Dunham on his mobile preference.

“If I need to find out something real quickly then I can just text the person and get the information without having a long conversation and I like it that way.” With phones becoming more advanced with time, this text messaging craze may only get larger.