Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: WhatsApp-ening with mobile instant messaging?

Purpose The use of mobile messaging (MM) or mobile instant messaging has grown in the past few years at astonishing rates. Design/methodology/approach This growth has prompted data gatherers and trend forecasters to look at the use of MM apps in different ways than in the past. Findings In a 2015 survey, The Pew Research Center asked about the use of MM apps separately from cell phone texting for the first time (Duggan, 2015). Originality/value Digital marketing site eMarketer.com published their first ever worldwide forecast for MM in 2015. This forecast report shows 1.4 billion current users of MM apps or 5 per cent of smartphone users accessing an MM app at least once a month. This is a 31.6 per cent increase from the previous year. The forecast predicts that by 2018, there will be two billion users, representing 80 per cent of smartphone users (eMarketer.com, 2015).