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.
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