communication processes
type: Concept
narrower: instant messaging

technology (new media)
type: Concept
narrower: instant messaging

computers and electronic media
type: Concept
narrower: instant messaging

cyberculture
type: Concept
narrower: instant messaging

social context of relationships
type: Concept
narrower: instant messaging

concepts
type: Collection
type: ConceptGroup
member: instant messaging

instant messaging
type: Concept
definition: Instant messaging, also known as IM, is an instantaneous textual communication technology that is free to anyone who has an Internet account and is able to download it. Primarily offered through large Internet service providers and computer conglomerates such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google, the instant messaging tool appears on a computer monitor looking like a box with a list of log-in names (a “buddy list”) and an indication of whether the person who uses the log-in is online and available to chat at the moment. [Source: Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media; Instant Messaging]
broader: technology (new media)
broader: social context of relationships
broader: internet and communities
broader: cyberculture
broader: computers and electronic media
broader: communication processes

internet and communities
type: Concept
narrower: instant messaging