'OMG': The first text message was sent 20 years ago

CLEVELAND - This will make you feel a bit old. Monday marks a special anniversary in the communications industry. It was 20 years ago that the first-ever text message was sent.

A man named Neil Papworth sent that first message. He used a computer terminal to send the message to a colleague's cell phone. It read "Merry Christmas."

"Texting" had a slow start, but eventually it surged in popularity, especially when it became cheaper than calling.

Even today it is the single most-widely used application in the world with some 81 percent of mobile phone subscribers typing away. It has also made certain abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) mainstream language especially among teenagers.

However, just like everything else in the tech world, text messaging is actually declining because free alternatives like instant messaging apps are becoming more popular.