# chat (digital)

talk that happens online

- Computed level: L10 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: communication  ·  Arena: everyday

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [talk](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-talk.spoken), [online](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-online.digital)

**Through:** talk happens through online

**Novel properties:**
- real‑time exchange
- textual medium

## Examples
- Users exchanged messages in real time during the 2010 Haiti earthquake using WhatsApp to coordinate relief efforts. *(computing)*
- Players in the 2023 online multiplayer game 'Fortnite' used voice chat to strategize during a live tournament event. *(everyday life)*
- In 2016, the Democratic National Committee email leak revealed internal staff using private chat logs on IRC to discuss campaign strategies. *(institutions)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chat.digital*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-chat.digital.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*