Australians called and texted each other less this Christmas Day than last year, according to telco giant Telstra, although record data usage suggests we may be getting in touch with loved ones in different ways.

Last year, there were 52 million SMS and MMS messages sent on Christmas Day over the Telstra network. This fell to 49 million in 2017.

Fewer people sent messages by SMS or MMS over Christmas on the Telstra network. Credit:Glenn Hunt.

In 2015, Telstra expected 58 million text messages to be sent on Christmas Day.

Australians also called each other less in 2017, with 38.5 million calls made from mobiles, compared with 39 million in 2016.