Grownups Get The Hang Of Instant Messaging

You know a technology has become a fixture of American life when it turns into a verb. The name “Google” is one such example—as in, “I’ll Google it.” Similarly, the phrase “instant message” has now transcended its humble beginnings as adjective-plus-noun and entered the vernacular as a kind of compound verb. Nor is instant messaging (commonly known as IM) the exclusive province of giggling teens. A study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that nearly 54 million adults use IM.