๐Ÿ’ป Computers

Email

An envelope with an @ sign flying fast

๐Ÿ“– In short

An email is a message written on a computer that reaches its owner's inbox in seconds, even on the other side of the world. It needs no stamp or postman, but it does need the right address, just like a paper letter.

๐Ÿคฉ Did you know?

  • People send hundreds of billions of emails every day.
  • The @ symbol was used in trade long before email used it.
  • An email needs no stamp, but some inboxes refuse very large attachments.
  • An email is split into small packets that travel across the internet and come together at the receiver.

๐Ÿ”Ž Find out more

๐ŸŒŸ An address in two parts

An email address has the person's name, then the @ symbol, read โ€œatโ€, then the name of the site that keeps their messages. No two addresses in the whole world are the same.

๐Ÿ” Parts of a message

A message has a โ€œsubjectโ€ saying briefly what it's about, then a โ€œbodyโ€ where we write the greeting, the message and the sign-off. We can also add an โ€œattachmentโ€ like a photo or a file.

๐Ÿ’ก Spam

Sometimes messages arrive from people we don't know: ads, promises of prizes or requests for passwords. These are spam or trick messages: we don't open their attachments or click their links, and we tell a grown-up.

๐ŸŽฏ Good manners in messages

We start with a greeting, write kindly and clearly, and check what we wrote before pressing โ€œSendโ€, because once a message is sent it usually can't be taken back.

๐Ÿงญ Who reads my message?

Your message might be forwarded to other people, so we don't write secrets in emails, or anything we wouldn't want others to read.

๐ŸŒˆ A copy for someone else

The โ€œCcโ€ box sends the message to someone else so they can see it too, like sending a copy to one of your parents when you write to your teacher.

๐Ÿ“Š See how it works

The parts of an email: recipient, subject, body, attachment and send button
The parts of an email.

๐Ÿ“š Key words

inbox
Where new messages arrive
Attachment
A file or photo we add to a message
Spam
Unwanted ads or trick messages

๐Ÿงช Try it at home

With one of your parents, write a real email to your grandmother or uncle, with a greeting, a subject and a kind sign-off, then wait for the reply!

๐Ÿงฉ Test yourself

1 Which symbol is in every email address?

2 A message from a stranger asks for your password. What do you do?

๐Ÿ“š Read next

๐ŸŽฎ Try it yourself