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Christmas is the busiest day for texting

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

'Tis the season to send a text.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TEXT ME MERRY CHRISTMAS")

STRAIGHT NO CHASER AND KRISTEN BELL: (Singing) Text me Merry Christmas. Let me know you care.

ASMA KHALID, HOST:

Yep. Turns out Christmas is the busiest day of the year for texting. We've had a couple of days now to reflect - and maybe regret.

FADEL: Maybe you texted an old flame. It's pretty common - so common, there's a term for it - Marleying.

KHALID: The term is inspired by Jacob Marley, Scrooge's former business partner from "A Christmas Carol" - you know, because you showed up after a long period of time of no contact.

FADEL: So a survey by the dating site eHarmony in the U.K. finds close to 1 in 10 singles has been Marleyed. While nearly as many admit they've done some Marleying.

KHALID: Texting without a response may be the real Christmas ghost. But, hey, text messages have been a part of the holiday spirit for a while now.

FADEL: Back in December of 1992, Neil Papworth sent the world's first text message, and it said Merry Christmas.

(SOUNDBITE OF SOULJA BOY SONG, "KISS ME THRU THE PHONE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.