Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic

messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters,

between two or more users of mobile phones, fixed devices (e.g., desktop
computers) or portable devices (e.g., tablet computers or smartphones).
While text messages are usually sent over a phone network, due to the
convergence between the telecommunication and broadcasting industries in
the 2000s, text messages may also be sent via a cable network or Local Area
Network. The term originally referred to messages sent using the Short
Message Service (SMS). It has grown beyond alphanumeric text to include
multimedia messages (known as MMS) containing digital images, videos, and
sound content, as well as ideograms known as emoji (happy faces and other
icons).