Email is a method for transmitting data, files, photos, and audio/video between computers over the internet. It originated in the 1960s-1970s for company messaging and became popular in the early 1990s when connections allowed worldwide email. Email users create and send messages with addresses specifying the recipient's name, organization, and country, and messages can include headers, attachments, and be stored, replied to, or forwarded. Email offers advantages like easy, fast, worldwide communication at low cost.