Digital Literacy

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Unit 5 | Communication

Direct Messaging ​

Previous content that will be useful to know

This section relies on information contained in the previous sections listed below. If you find this section difficult to understand, it may help to go back and review these past sections. Click on a link to go to the prerequisite section, or use the menu.

Direct messaging (also known as DM-ing) or instant messaging is very similar to texting. However, it is always done over the internet, not over a cellular network. This just means the messages use a different method than texts do to get from one device to another. The technical details are not necessary to understand in order to use this communication method.

iPhones (phones made by the company Apple), have a built-in instant-messaging feature called iMessage. Many social media apps also have instant-messaging features.

Another example is WhatsApp, which is a popular instant-messaging app that people often use to send messages internationally.

Advantages of direct messaging ​

You may be wondering, why would you need another way to send messages to people? Isn’t texting enough? Direct messages have a few benefits over texting:

  • Avoid long-distance charges: Sending texts over a cellular network to people in other countries will often cost you money. This is called long-distance texting. Direct message are a great alternative because sending messages over the internet is usually free.
  • Use any device: Only phones can send texts. Direct messages can be sent by many types of devices such as phones, laptops, and tablets.
  • Avoid exchanging numbers: You need someone's phone number to send them a text, but you don’t always need it to send them an instant/direct message. Some people don’t want to give their phone number to people they don’t know well and would prefer to communicate through DMs.

Groupchats ​

Groupchats let you message with multiple people at once. Anyone who has been added to the groupchat can send a message and can see all messages sent by others.

Direct message conversation examples

Above are some examples of what direct/instant messaging can look like on Instagram and WhatsApp.

GIFs ​

GIF stands for graphics interchange format. A GIF is an animated image file. It is often limited in length to be only a few seconds. You can think of them as short videos and they are often light-hearted or funny. GIFs can be sent on most direct messaging platforms. They can also be sent using other methods like email, but they are more well-suited to informal conversations which are less likely to happen over email.