Instant Messaging and Texting

Abstract

This chapter contains an examination of the research into texting and instant messaging. Instant messaging and texting are shown to be powerful technologies for maintaining relationships, building identities, and functioning within an information based society. The author raises questions about the implications of these social practices for those individuals who remain on the digital margins. The chapter provides an overview of the research, including a brief history of the technology and a theoretical framing of the terms used to discuss the phenomenon. A discussion of who uses instant messaging and why, and what the research has found regarding the conventions of use associated with instant messaging and texting follows. The chapter ends with a discussion of the current issues in the field, locates gaps in the research, and identifies implications and recommendations for education, civic engagement, social practice, and policy.