Instant Messaging

Instant messaging is a type of synchronous communication. This is where you send text messages to people, it can even be in group chats with a group of people. Dennis Baron in his book “A Better Pencil” states that instant messaging is text based communication between two or more individuals on their phones or computers. Instant messaging (IM) exploded on the Internet in November 1996. It became popular since it was faster than sending emails and much better at holding conversations. With instant messaging IM users have real time conversations with buddies, and the users can switch tasks quickly on a computer. Nowadays with instant messaging you can send files, pictures, videos, and even voice recordings. As technology progresses there are new things that people can do with instant messaging. Instant messaging is an online chat room to communicate with people.

That's when Mirabilis (Israeli company) introduced ICQ (I Seek You), a free instant-messaging platform that anyone could use (Tyson & Cooper). AOL (American Online) bought ICQ and then AOL created AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), becoming the IM leader. Today, IM platforms include those like eBuddy and Pidgin (Cooper). Instant Messaging is considered the best way to communicate with others quickly. Messages are sent instantly, having the receiver get a notification once your message is sent. This notification is displayed on the person’s phone so once they turn on their phone they can easily read your message. However, Baron states that it is a distraction while bosses and parents monitor employees and children. Unfortunately instant messaging is a blessing and a curse, it can hinder productivity in the workplace and school setting because we have become so dependent on this new technology. Therefore, in schools teachers will confiscate student’s phones because they just want to talk with their friends instead of paying attention in class. After all, how many of us have left our phone at home and drove all the way home to get it?

Not only have we become dependent on our phones for the GPS but also our way to socialize with people. In the past it was normal to have a meeting spot for your group of friends at a certain time, now we have group chats. On the other hand Baron believes a benefit would be instant communication equals instant access to information. Baron states that instant messaging may be interrupted by everyday life, but the written exchanges are able to be saved for later making it easy to continue conversation hours after the last message. So, if your parents told you the groceries to pick up later at Publix in the morning, and it is already the end of the day you would most likely forget the whole list. But with instant messaging you can simply text them to send you the list and you will have quick access to it.

According to John McWhorter’s Ted Talk “Txtng is killing language. JK!!!”, instant messaging is a new language with a new structure. A perfect example is LOL, which is an abbreviation for “laughing out loud” and is used in response to something funny. Over time LOL has turned into a pragmatic particle because it is an expression that is simply used to fill gaps in conversation (McWhorter). Through instant messaging, the English language is being transformed. “G2g” or “gtg” stands for got to go, “lol” stands for laughing out loud, “idk” for I don’t know, and “imu/imy” for I miss you. These abbreviations are called chatspeaks or netspeak, and they have been around for a while but are commonly used through social media platforms and instant messaging. Like the email, many critics point out that the use of IM is endangering the English language, referring to it as “mindless communication” (Baron). And the reason for this is that you do not necessarily have to be laughing out loud to send the abbreviation “lol”, most likely the person who sent “lol” was not laughing and just being kind to respond. Although these new forms of languages are continuously changing with the development of technology, it does help with responding to messages quickly.

Baron, Dennis. “The Instant Message Genre.” A Better Pencil: Readers, Writers, and the Digital Revolution, , Oxford University Press, 2009, pp. 150–155.

Cooper, Alison, and Jeff Tyson. "How Instant Messaging Works." HowStuffWorks, 28 Mar. 2001, computer.howstuffworks.com/e-mail-messaging/instant-messaging.htm.

McWhorter, John. “Txtng Is Killing Language. JK!!!” TED, www.ted.com/talks/john_mcwhorter_txtng_is_killing_language_jk?language=en.