Australians to dial up a data record in Christmas cheer with Snapchat replacing family phone call

PHONE calls to family are a Christmas tradition - but this year we’re set to give it a modern twist with Snapchat and video calls on a day set to break data records.

Aussies are set to Snapchat their Christmas cheer in a record data day.

FORGET about just ringing the family for Christmas, Australians are set to make it a record day for data as they turn to social media tools like Snapchat to send their Christmas cheer.

Telstra today released a prediction that Australians would set a Christmas Day data record, downloading 1.1 million gigabytes of mobile data on the Telstra network alone, twice the amount downloaded on Christmas Day last year.

That’s the equivalent of Telstra mobile customers using their smartphones to download 11 songs for every person in Australia.

Christmas Day has also been a spike in telecommunications, with families turning to their phones to connect with distant friends and relatives.

But the Telstra research shows that a third of Australians aged 18 to 24 will ditch the phone call and Snapchat their loved ones instead, and four in ten will use video chat to see their loved ones as they exchange Christmas greetings.

While many people have often used the get together to snap the annual family photo, the Telstra research shows we’re taking a different approach on that too. More than a third of Australians plan to send a selfie to their loved ones, showing how they celebrated the big day.

It’s not all selfies and Snapchat. The Telstra predictions include that Australians will send 59 million text messages on Christmas Day and use their mobiles to make 38 million phone calls.