The purpose of this paper is to examine young consumers' motives for using short message service (SMS), their SMS usage frequency, and their attitudes towards SMS advertising. Data were collected using convenience sampling via a self administered questionnaire in a large Western Australia university. A total of 211 useable responses were collected and retained for analysis. The sample is only limited to young consumers in an Australian context. As such, limited generalization can be derived. Future research can look into cross cultural studies or other consumer segments. Factor analysis on the motives for using SMS revealed seven factors. The results showed that convenience and economical reasons influence SMS usage frequency. Social involvement is also found to influence attitudes towards SMS advertising.