The Perception of Unsolicited SMS by Students of Madonna University, Okija

Filed in Mass Communication Project Topics by on October 21, 2020

The Perception of Unsolicited SMS by Students of Madonna University, Okija.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Beyond the traditional communication channels which include mails, catalogs and telephone contacts, in recent years, as a result of technological advances in information and communication sciences, emerged contact channels is now available (Kautonen, 2007).

At the inception of telecommunications operations in Nigeria in 2001, subscribers were treated as kings. At the time, subscribers received Short Message Service (SMS),

otherwise known as text messages from telecoms operators, only when the operators wanted to pass vital information such as information on network failures in some parts of the country and when they would be fixed.

Subscribers were also sent SMS on new coverage areas, especially when operators expanded services to new areas. Information on systems maintenance/upgrade and the period of maintenance, which were usually sent to subscribers at midnights, were also communicated via SMS Emenni (2016).

These SMS were received without complaints because they were informative. But over the years, operators took undue advantage of the situation to broadcast bulk SMS to millions of subscribers on their networks for their personal gains.

Most of the SMS these days are no longer informative as all manner of unsolicited promotional SMS are being broadcast across networks.

At some points, a single subscriber may receive more than 12 SMS in a day, causing overload on the storage capacity of their mobile phones.

The more subscribers delete the unsolicited SMS, the more they receive them, thus causing embarrassment to subscribers.

1.2 Statement of Problem

SMS has been the most successful non-voice service for mobile operators in the history of telecommunications and, as such, has been a key revenue generator. The key to the success of SMS has been its simplicity, reach, price and reliability.

All other messaging based applications launched since SMS have struggled to meet the lofty expectations set by the service and pale in comparison to its success.

Technological advancements have provided various new mediums for advertising to consumers and have further allowed organizations to better reach consumers with regards to the frequency and impact of advertising.

Advertisers have to be more creative in the formulation of advertisements and selection of advertising mediums so as to gain the attention of their target market.

The need to create new mediums for advertising has lead to the creation of new-age media such as short message service (SMS) advertising.

Every year stories of the demise of this 160-character service are thick in the air, and every year SMS usage continues to grow as more uses are found for this once ignored service.

References

Ake, C. (1981). A Political Economy of Africa. Nigeria: Longman. 

Alaibe, T. (2010). Presidential Amnesty Programme one year after, Champion  Newspapers. Retrieved on 30/10/2011 from  http://www.champion.com.ng/displaycontent.asp?pid=1302  . 

Aseidu, E. (2003). Capital Controls and Foreign Direct Investment. World Dev., 32: 490 497. 

Azaiki, S. (2007). Inequities in Nigerian Politics. Ibadan: Y-Books,  

Bakare, A. S. (2010). Multinational Direct Investment and economic growth in Nigeria:  An empirical study. Retrieved on 30/09/2011 from www.medwelljournals.com/ref.php?doi=ibm.2010.171.176  . 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (2010) Annual Report 2008. Retrieved on 1/11/2011 from http://www.cenbank.org.

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