ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on just one type of technology: forms of brief asynchronous communication. One of the curiosities in the development of highly sophisticated technologies of writing and reading is that they frequently seem to contain and recapitulate the old technologies within them. E-books mimic physical books; especially interestingly, reading on computer screens has meant returning to scrolling, a type of reading technology that the codex had previously made obsolete. Digital styluses, bookmarks, keyboards, and desktops recall or reappropriate physical tools and environments of intellectual activity. The icon, a mystical object central to Eastern Orthodox worship, is repurposed. The world of personal digital communication offers a dizzying, ever-expanding array of interfaces, at the heart of which is always the promise of newness and choice, as well as the sense that each service offers an entirely distinct experience. Text messaging, or texting, refers specifically to messages sent via Short Message Service (SMS).
