First, there is no doubt that the Internet has changed the way we communicate. For many of us, e-mail has virtually replaced traditional letters and even telephone calls as the choice for correspondence. Every day, billions of e-mail messages are sent out. E-mail has been the most rapidly adopted form of communication ever known. In less than two decades, communication has gone from obscurity to mainstream dominance (Nardi, Whittaker, 1993).
In our fast-paced world, sometimes even the rapid response of e-mail is not fast enough. Computer users have no way of knowing if the person who is receiving the e-mail is online at that particular moment or not. Also, if one is sending multiple e-mails back and forth with the same person, you normally have to click through a few steps to read, reply and send the e-mail. This is why “instant messaging (IM)” has gained popularity. “More advanced instant messaging software clients also allow enhanced modes of communication, such as live voice or video calling” (Marycz, Cutrell, Horvitz, 2000).
Because instant messaging is a form of communication, it is carried out through constant messages sent back and forth from one member to another. Instant messaging allows one to maintain a list of people they wish to interact with. A person can send messages to any of the people in your list, often called a buddy list or friend list, as long as that person is online. Sending a message opens up a small window where the sender and receiver can type in messages that both of you can see (Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN, Skype) (Singh, 2000).
Therefore, instant