Instant messaging to replace texting

Mobile text messaging could become extinct within a generation as millions of young people turn to other forms of electronic communication, the Daily Mail reports.

Experts predict the amount of texts sent in the UK will drop by 20 percent in the next two years.

It comes as teenagers and students are increasingly using BlackBerrys instead of iPhones and other smartphones because the device has a free BBM messenger.

Sales in the phone have increased six-fold during the past year, mainly because of an increase in sales among 16- to 24-year-olds.

A study for broadband provider TalkTalk found only 51 percent of Britons in their teens or early 20s say e-mail is their first choice of communication.

Industry experts believe that if this trend is followed into adulthood, then text messaging could disappear within a generation.

Instant messaging is extremely similar to texting, but faster and cheaper. It is free on BlackBerry phones even for "pay and go" customers and is used by 39 million people across the world.