We've come a long way since text messaging debuted in 1992. Like email, SMS messages have become one of the most popular methods of communication, and it's hard to imagine how modern society would be without this invention.

Here's how much influence SMS messages have had over us in the past decade.

1. In 2014, over 561 billion text messages were sent in one month. That equates to 18.7 billion text messages per day, 779 million text messages per hour, 13 million text messages per minute, or 216,000 text messages per second. Now imagine how much worse it's gotten in the two years since!

2. In 2016, Millenials prefer texting to calling for all communications. Of those aged between 18--24, when given a choice between only being able to text or only being able to call, about 75 percent chose texting. Not only that, but about 75 percent of Millenials prefer to receive texts for things like appointments, payments, order alerts, etc.

3. Messaging apps are taking over traditional text messages. As of 2015, about 49 percent of smartphone owners between 18--29 years of age preferred to use messaging apps. The older folks are catching on, too: about 37 percent of those aged 30--49 and 24 percent of those aged 50+ use messaging apps.

If you want to graduate past text messaging, then you may want to check out these free messaging mobile apps.

How often do you send and receive text messages? Would you be okay if text messaging disappeared forever? What would you do instead? Share with us in the comments below!