text message

See also texting, a "text message" is a brief, electronic message (less than 160 characters) sent and received via a wireless network and viewed on any number of mobile or handheld devices, such as a Blackberry, iPhone, cell phone, PDA, handy, or a pager (see also: SMS). As more and more people send text messages to each other, they are increasingly using acronyms, chat acronyms, shorthand, and smileys since the screens on mobile devices keep getting smaller and smaller -- see: microbrowser and microblogging.

For example, "AFAIK CU 2NITE" means, "As far as I know, I'll see you tonight." Or, "CN U RD THS? IF U Want 2 no abt 100s of gr8 txt msgs, go2 da list!"

A great deal of m-commerce and banking now relies on text messaging, as does advertising and branding for the marketing industry. The common metaphor here is the use of "alerts" and how the technology is facilitating the push of information, as opposed to the pull model.

Historical Perspective: The state of Washington passed the first ban in the United States on texting while driving (in May, 2007) and several other states have followed suit. Aaron Deveau, 18, was the first driver to be charged and convicted of motor vehicle homicide by texting under Massachusetts law (June, 2012). Prosecutors said Deveau, who pleaded not guilty, was texting on Feb. 20, 2011, when his vehicle swerved across the center line of a Haverhill street and crashed head on into Donald Bowley's truck, killing the 55-year-old father of three. Texting while driving is a crime in the majority of U.S. states. Deveau faces up to four years in prison.

More historical perspective: According the The Guardian, in 2012 more than 8 trillion texts were sent worldwide, or about 15 million a minute.

For the largest list of Internet acronyms and text message shorthand, click on "more info" below!