Daily Mail columnist David Thomas marked the 20th anniversary of the first mobile phone text message on December 2, 2012, highlighting how SMS technology transformed communication while affecting language and relationships across Britain.
Writing for the UK publication, Thomas observed that the average Briton sends approximately 50 texts each week and has become more likely to send text messages to family and friends than to speak with them directly.
Thomas stated that texting made history but ruined language and plenty of marriages. In a related column published on July 18, 2012, he argued that the art of conversation was dying, detailing three specific actions people can take when speaking face-to-face with another person that cannot be accomplished through text messaging.
Short Message Service technology, commonly known as SMS, was first tested in December 1992 before expanding into a primary global communication method. The Daily Mail, a major British national newspaper established in London in 1896, published the commentary as part of a series of opinion pieces by Thomas exploring contemporary social habits.
Tech Privacy and Media Criticism
Beyond mobile messaging, Thomas addressed digital privacy concerns in a column published on June 13, 2012. He announced a dispute with technology giant Google to determine whether the company had taken family secrets after its Street View camera vehicles photographed his house.
Thomas urged Daily Mail readers to join his campaign and demand that Google disclose private information. Google Street View, launched in 2007 as a feature of Google Maps, utilizes vehicle-mounted cameras to provide panoramic street level imagery, a practice that attracted public scrutiny regarding domestic privacy rights.
In June 2012, Thomas also criticized the British Broadcasting Corporation, writing against what he described as the snobbery and elitism of the anti-elitist broadcaster. The BBC, founded in 1922 and headquartered in London, operates as the national public service broadcaster of the United Kingdom.
Social Issues and Sports Debates
Earlier in 2012, Thomas tackled various public controversies in his regular columns. In May 2012, he issued a direct memo to Lycra-clad cyclists asserting that traffic rules apply to them, argued that the anti-fat campaign was fat-headed, and commented on political figures in France.
In April 2012, Thomas defended sprinter Dwain Chambers, writing that reformed drug cheats had earned the right to compete as Olympians. In the same month, he wrote that the Grand National horse race had no future if it operated like Russian Roulette for horses, commented on St George as patron saint of a country dying of shame, and discussed London mayoral candidates Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, describing them as two of a not-very-nice kind.
Dwain Chambers, a British track sprinter who served a two-year suspension for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, sought qualification for the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Grand National, an annual steeplechase horse race held at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool since 1839, has frequently drawn public debate over animal safety, while Johnson and Livingstone competed in the May 2012 London Mayoral election.
Culture, Economy and National Affairs
In February 2012, Thomas published commentary on economic policies and public figures, arguing that tax-deductible servants could free working women and criticizing hiring policies. He revealed that a star singing for the Queen registered at hotels under the pseudonym Sir Humphrey Handbag, and marked the 200th birthday of Charles Dickens by asserting that the Victorian novelist would not have a chance of succeeding today.
Charles Dickens, born in February 1812, remains one of Britain's most prominent historical literary figures, known for classic works including Oliver Twist and Great Expectations.
In January 2012, Thomas commented on Scottish political affairs, writing that if Scotland became a progressive beacon he was glad to remain in England. He questioned why English people need to speak foreign languages when foreigners speak English, and described the wrecked cruise ship Costa Concordia and its captain as symbols of a magnificent but malfunctioning Italy.
Thomas further urged focus on manufacturing rather than national spending, and questioned whether wind turbines, which he termed eye sores, would eventually be removed. The Costa Concordia disaster occurred on January 13, 2012, when the Italian cruise ship struck rocks off Giglio Island, resulting in a major maritime rescue operation and international news coverage.
