Here's Why Your Texts Might Be Delayed On New Year's Eve At Midnight

Surrounding yourself with friends and family is ideal on New Year's Eve, but there's usually at least one important person missing from your group outing. Whether your best friend is on a far away beach with their girlfriend, or if your mom is on a coastal excursion during her holiday break, it might be tempting to text or call whoever is missing as you officially enter the new year. But, based on the long-speculated urban legend, do texts go through on New Year's Eve at midnight? We finally have the answer, so you don't have to wonder if you should hold off on that "Happy New Year" text.

While this is a widely speculated phenomenon, why would a text or call delay at the stroke of midnight? Do phones slow down amidst the switch of the year? Is service overwhelmed by so many texts and calls at 12 a.m.? Does it actually happen?! Verizon spokesperson Karen Schulz gives us insight. She tells Elite Daily,

There is the possibility that when so many people all in one area (think Time Square at midnight) all try to upload pictures or send messages at the exact same moment, the heavy traffic can cause a momentary slow down on that data getting through. (Imagine rush hour when cars are all streaming onto the interstate at once — there is no issue with the interstate, but the cars may need to slow down for a brief moment).

So, it's not a glitch in our phones because of a switch into the new year; it's because sending texts, photos, or phone calls are slowed by high volume of traffic. In fact, UK marketing blog, FastSMS, compares phone networks on New Years Eve to a giant sink, with millions of messages being sent through a very clogged drain. So, your elated late-night message could turn into an extremely annoying hungover wakeup call. Oops.

According to Schulz, many phone companies are trying to lower the chances of a slowed network. By enhancing coverage in overpopulated locations such as Time Square, where millions of people flock for the holiday, they can improve the processing of texts and calls. She tells us,

We have taken steps to minimize that possibility by installing temporary network assets in Time Square, building out additional capacity covering that area, and deploying advanced network features in our network which both add capacity and help data enter and exit the network more efficiently.

Unfortunately, since entire networks can be slowed down (depending on where you are, of course), your ability to upload pictures to social media outlets on your phone might be delayed. While you might be in an area with perfectly strong cell service, your phone's ability to upload photos — as well as its ability to access data in general — might run the risk of slowing down. So don't be totally discouraged when that perfect midnight kiss you captured doesn't post to snapchat right away, because your phone is just taking a little extra time to think — and that's okay!

Despite the rumors that might phones need time to re-adjust at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, networks actually just experience extremely high levels of excited late-night texts and phone calls from around the world. So while your "Happy New Year" text or phone call might be a little delayed, it could be a sign that you should just live in the moment, and not get hung up over what your friends are doing elsewhere. Make sure you're staying present with the people you've chosen to be with for the new year, and know that your messages can wait until tomorrow morning.

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