The vast majority of cell phone owners send and receive text messages. Large numbers of cell owners across all demographic groups do so, with the exception of mobile phone owners 65 and older, according to a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey conducted in August and September.

Texting is most prevalent among cell owners ages 18 to 29 — 97% of them use their cell phones to send texts. The number is nearly as high (92%) for those ages 30 to 49, but falls off to 72% for those 50 to 64 and 34% for those over 65.

A survey conducted April-May 2011 put the number of messages sent each day by texters in the 18 to 29 age bracket at 87.7, more than three times the comparable figures for 30 to 49 year olds and nearly 19 times the figure for text messaging users who are 65 or older.

When it comes to teens, a survey conducted April-July 2011 found that 75% of all teens text. The median number of texts sent on a typical day by teens 12-17 stood at 60 in 2011. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.