Text Messaging

What Does Text Messaging Mean?

Text messaging is the transfer of short messages between two or more fixed or mobile devices. Text messaging devices include mobile phones, pagers and personal digital assistants (PDAs). Text messaging originated with the short message service (SMS), which was derived from radiotelegraphy. Today, text messaging is a critical global communication medium.

Techopedia Explains Text Messaging

Because the length of text messages is usually limited to 140 bytes (or 160 seven-bit characters), many words are replaced with numbers and single letters, such as “r u ok” (Are you okay?) and 143 (I love you.).

Example of users and uses of text messaging includes:

Advertising: Contests and promotions
Family members, friends and classmates: Keeping in touch
Groups or organizations: Activity communication
Political campaigns: Updates to constituents
Vendor system automation: Ordering products and services
Vendors: Payment due dates and other notifications

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Margaret Rouse

Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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