Message

Discrete unit of communication

For other uses, see Message (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Massage or Messuage.

Geheime Korrespondenz (secret correspondence), by Carl von Bergen A headstone message in the Jerusalem British World War I Cemetery on Mount Scopus

A message is a discrete unit of communication intended by the source for consumption by some recipient or group of recipients. A message may be delivered by various means, including courier, telegraphy, or an electronic bus. A message can be the content of a broadcast. An interactive exchange of messages forms a conversation.[1] The consumption of the message relies on how the recipient interprets the message, there are times where the recipient contradicts the intention of the message which results in a boomerang effect. [2] Message fatigue is another outcome recipients can obtain if a message is conveyed too much by the source. [3]

One example of a message is a press release, which may vary from a brief report or statement released by a public agency to commercial publicity material. [4] Another example of a message is how they are portrayed to a consumer via an advertisement.

## History

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Main article: History of communication

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2022)

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## Roles in human communication

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In communication between humans, messages can be verbal or nonverbal:

* A verbal message is an exchange of information using words. Examples include face-to-face communication, telephone calls, voicemails, emails, etc.
* A nonverbal message is communicated through actions or behaviors rather than words, such as conscious or unconscious body language.

The phrase "send a message" or "sending a message" is also used for actions taken by a party to convey that party's attitude towards a certain thing. For example, a government that executes people who commit acts of treason is sending a message that treason will not be tolerated.[5] Conversely, a party that appears through its actions to endorse something that it opposes can be said to be "sending the wrong message",[5] while one which appears to simultaneously endorse contradictory things can be said to be sending "mixed messages".[6]

## In computer science

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There are two main senses of the word "message" in computing: messages between the human users of computer systems that are delivered by those computer systems, and messages passed between programs or between components of a single program, for their purposes.

* Instant messaging and emails are examples of computer software designed for delivering human-readable messages in formatted or unformatted text, from one person to another.
* Message passing is a form of communication used in concurrent and parallel computing, object-oriented programming, and channel communicates, where communication is made by sending messages to recipients. In a related use of this sense of a message, in object-oriented programming language such as main library ["msg" box]Smalltalk or Java, a message is sent to an object, specifying a request for action.

### Safety and privacy concerns

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Safety and privacy concerns have been expressed in the computer science industry regarding messages. There have been cases where instant messaging apps were found to present a risk of spyware infection.[7] Text messaging is one of the larger causes of distracted driving, and the act of texting and driving has been made illegal in many states as a result.[8]

## See also

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* Airmail – Service which transports mail by air
* Amateur radio emergency communications – Fallback service
* Beacon – Device used to attract attention
* Communications satellite – Artificial satellite that relays radio signals
* Communication studies – Academic discipline
* Drums in communication – Drums used for long-distance signalling and communications
* Email – Mail sent using electronic means
* Emergency Alert System – Method of emergency broadcasting in the United States
* Encryption – Process of converting plaintext to ciphertext
* Express mail – Accelerated mail delivery service
* Flag semaphore – System to transmit information by hand
* Instant messaging – Form of computer communication over the internet or locally
* List of interstellar radio messages
* Mail – System for transporting documents and other small packages
* Message in a bottle – Form of communication
* Network packet – Formatted unit of data carried by a packet-switched network
* Optical telegraph – Tower-based signaling network
* Pioneer plaque – Plaques on the Pioneer 10 and 11 space probes with pictorial messages about humanity
* Pony Express – 1860–1861 mail service in the United States
* Radio – Use of radio waves to carry information
* Semaphore – Mechanical apparatus used to send messages
* Semiotics – Study of signs and sign processes
* Sign language – Language that uses manual communication and body language to convey meaning
* Smoke signal – Smoke used as a mode of communication
* SMS – Text messaging service component
* Telegraphy – Long distance transmission of text
* Telephony – Field of telecommunication services
* Television – Telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images
* Voicemail – Voice message storage and retrieval

## References

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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Message" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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1. ^ Carney, Dan (2009-04-08). "Dashboards meet the 21st century". msnbc.com. Archived from the original on November 27, 2019. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
2. ^ Zhao, Xinyan; Fink, Edward L. (2021). "Proattitudinal versus counterattitudinal messages: Message discrepancy, reactance, and the boomerang effect". Communication Monographs. 88 (3): 286–305. doi:10.1080/03637751.2020.1813317. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
3. ^ So, Jiyeon; Kim, Soela; Cohen, Heather (2017). "Message fatigue: Conceptual definition, operationalization, and correlates". Communication Monographs. 84: 5–29. doi:10.1080/03637751.2016.1250429. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
4. ^ Tsai, Wan-Hsiu (Sunny); Lancaster, Alyse R. (2012). "Message Strategies in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising: A Content Analysis Using Taylor's Six-Segment Message Strategy Wheel". Health Marketing Quarterly. 29 (3): 239–255. doi:10.1080/07359683.2012.705708. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
5. ^ a b "Send a message definition". Cambridge English Dictionary. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
6. ^ Marie, A. (November 8, 2022). "A Mixed Message is THE Message". Medium.
7. ^ Sunku, Durgaprasad (2019-11-01). "Hyderabad: WhatsApp is vulnerable to spyware attacks". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
8. ^ "Distracted Driving | NHTSA". www.nhtsa.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-09.

## External links

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* Media related to Messages at Wikimedia Commons
* The dictionary definition of message at Wiktionary
* Quotations related to Message at Wikiquote

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

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