By Andile Ndlovu and Carvin Goldstone
It has torn families apart, broken marriages, made hundreds of thousands of teenagers vulnerable to sexual predators - yet it remains the most popular communication device among young South Africans - and its number of international users is growing by the thousands daily.
For many parents, MXit is a scourge that steals family time and puts their children at risk - but for its 5,7-million users, mainly teenagers, it is a way of life.
While some South African parents have taken the time to learn about MXit and become hooked in the process themselves, many have no idea what their children are up to on their cellphones.
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| 'I've made really good friends through it' |
MXit is part of the (IM) Instant Messages revolution, which allows people to communicate cheaply in real time using instant messaging technology.
It was founded by a Cape Town businessman Herman Heunis in 2005. To make use of MXit one has to log onto the Mixit website and download the software to the cellphone opening up a gateway to subscribe, send and receive messages at a cost of 2c a message.
To access MXit, the cellphone has to have Internet access, be a GPRS (general radio service) and 3G-enabled cellphone with java viewing software support.
The user then downloads the IM client such as MXit on to the cellphone for free. The user then chooses a user name which will be linked to his or her cellphone number, similarly to the way contacts in a cellphone are identified.
Each user will also have to have a unique name and password.
Signing up for an account has proven to be problematic for more technically challenged users, but is improving.
Once signed on, one can invite friends using their cellphone numbers to join "chatrooms" for just 2c a message.
Like other IM services, MXit has a friends list that has a highlighted icon next to their name which indicates if they are on or off-line.
If on-line, this enables users to talk to each other and get instant responses.
The response time is so quick that it enables users to talk at a consistent pace and even include expressions in text to enhance the conversation. The message costs are much cheaper than the R1 or R2 for SMSs. The site also allows for the downloading of other files likes images, sound, or video.
The cheap communication device has swept through South Africa and grabbed the attention of young people from all racial and economic backgrounds.
Adrian Blose, 20, a third-year property development student from Howard College, says he's been using it since March 2006.
"A friend of mine introduced me to it; I got sold right after he told me that it was cheaper, and I've made really good friends through it. The server crashing once in a while is a hassle, plus the constant disconnections make it a little annoying.
"However, the main reason why I use it instead of other sites like Facebook and Mig33 is purely money-saving," he said.
Thabile Thusi, 19, a student at Vega Branding Communication School, says she's been on the system since last December.
"I really didn't see the big fuss about it until my young sister, who's been using it for a couple years now, convinced me that it was a fun alternative to other sites like Skype.
"I use it for networking and social purposes when I'm at home with very little airtime, and it does not require a PC."
MXit has come in for a lot of criticism lately with some users using the service to circulate defamatory information about other people.
The most prominent of these defamatory messages was the highly circulated "slut list" and "bastard list" which defamed girls and boys across the country
On the MXit website they claim to have ironed out the initial security concerns that hampered their growth, and offer safety tips to parents and children. According to MXit, clear guidelines on the responsible use of their technology are provided to users in the form of a text message every time they enter any of their chatrooms.
- This article was originally published on page 7 of Pretoria News on August 18, 2008
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