Valentines declare love via SMS

Receiving anonymous Valentine’s Day cards from secret admirers could become a distant memory if the current trend of declaring love by text message continues.

February 14th 2009 was the busiest Valentine’s day on record for mobile operators, according to figures released this month, with over one billion SMS messages sent across the airwaves on the day of love.

VeriSign, who released the data, said the statistics show mobile messaging is proving resilient despite the recession.

“The mobile phone has become the most pervasive, personal communications tool available,” said Michael Campbell of VeriSign.

The overall total of text messages sent worldwide during the first quarter of 2009 increased 96% on year to 1.06 billion.

A recent study by Envirofone.com found that one in three admirers avoid dating jitters by asking the object of their devotion out on a first date via text message.