Chris Wood

Instant messaging (IM) programs are seen as a hot growth area for Internet companies like Yahoo! and America Online. Faster, chattier, and more casual than e—mail, instant messaging is particularly popular among teenagers. Friends who list each other on their "buddy lists" can carry on simultaneous e—mail conversations with everyone who is logged on from their group. Teenage girls are the largest group of IM users, but the benefits of IM have not been lost on adults, who in growing numbers use IM systems at the office. In this article from Maclean's, writer Chris Wood describes the mania over instant messaging.