HOUSTON – In today’s world, there are so many social media apps people download to their phones as a progressive way of communicating with friends, families, and even strangers from miles and miles away.
There are social media apps such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Kik, Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp and even dating apps that have drawn popularity over the years -- especially for the younger crowd.
Recommended Videos
Now we have the Discord app, which many parents might not have heard about.
This week, 20-year-old Austin Stone, who has autism, disappeared from Missouri City. His parents say they discovered he recently downloaded Discord on his phone.
So what is Discord?
The chatting app Discord, which is one of the most popular ways gamers communicate online, started in 2015 as a nerdy online hangout for gamers and had some hiccups in its quest for mainstream success.
Its growth accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as a forum for its mostly younger users to gossip or even help each other with homework.
Discord users skew young — about 38% of its web users and nearly half of its Android app users are between the ages of 18 and 24, according to digital intelligence platforms similar on the web. They are roughly 75% male, the research group says.
Recently, the app has also pitched itself as a gateway to artificial intelligence tools such as Midjourney, which conjures up new imagery based on commands it’s given in a Discord chat.
Discord announced in January that it was buying another teen-focused social app called Gas, which enables people to share online polls and uplifting compliments.
How does Discord work?
Discord can be accessed through desktops, smartphones, or gaming consoles such as Xbox and PlayStation. It allows users to create invite-only “servers.”
The servers, which resemble the professional messaging platform Slack, allow users to create subchannels where they can communicate over text, voice, or video chats.
Some users might have “friend servers” of several dozen people they know in real life. In contrast, others might join larger servers devoted to an online community of people interested in a specific topic.
The company hosts nearly 21,000 servers, the vast majority of which are dedicated to gaming. Others are focused on topics like generative AI, entertainment, or music.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.