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Digital means information is represented as separate, discrete values rather than as a continuously varying signal. Computers commonly encode those values as binary digits—0s and 1s—so they can store, process, copy, and transmit information such as text, pictures, sound, video, and sensor readings.
What “digital” means
IEEE Technology Navigator defines digital information as information represented by discrete symbols, most commonly binary digits, so computing systems can store, transmit, copy, and process it. The key idea is the use of distinct, countable values. Binary is the common computing method of representing those values, but it is not the whole definition of “digital.”
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A digital system can represent many kinds of information: words, numbers, images, audio, video, software, and metadata. The same computing infrastructure can work with these different forms of content.
How digital differs from analog
The difference is how information is represented. Digital information uses distinct values; an analog signal varies continuously. A digital representation may describe an original that was already digital or one converted from an analog source.
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For example, a real-world sound varies continuously. A recording system can sample that signal and assign discrete values to the measurements, producing a digital representation. Conversion does not make “digital” and “analog” interchangeable: the original signal and its digital representation are different forms.
Also distinguish the information or signal from the device that handles it. A device can combine digital and analog components; it is not necessarily wholly one or the other.
How computers represent digital information
Bits and binary
In the elementary computing model, binary digits have two possible values: 0 and 1. Intel explains these values using transistor states—off and on. A single binary digit is a bit; multiple bits can be combined to represent larger values and content.
Text, image, audio, and other data can therefore be encoded as patterns of discrete values. The pattern is the representation; software and hardware determine how to interpret and use it.
Digital data is not automatically lossless
Digital data can be copied and transmitted, and digital representation can support exact reproduction. But that does not guarantee every real-world copy or transfer will be error-free. Systems can fail, and some formats deliberately discard information to reduce file size. Digital also does not, by itself, mean higher quality, secure, or permanent.
What digital is used for
Everyday activities
Phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, and game consoles handle digital information. People use them to search for information, communicate, study, work, browse, shop, listen to music, watch video, and play games. These are examples of uses, not a definition based on a particular device.
Organizations and specialized systems
Organizations use digital information in libraries and archives, scientific repositories, enterprise records, health information systems, legal discovery, technical documentation, and media asset management. Scientific data can include experimental, observational, and simulation results, as well as software, algorithms, text, numbers, images, video, audio, and metadata.
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Digital media is a narrower term
“Digital technology” can refer broadly to computing systems and their uses. “Digital media” refers more specifically to electronic media whose data is stored digitally rather than analogically. NIST’s glossary defines digital media in this narrower sense. A digital photograph, for example, is digital media; the wider systems used to capture, store, edit, or share it are digital technology.
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Quick way to identify what “digital” describes
- Information: Is the content represented as distinct values?
- Signal: Does it vary continuously, or has it been represented with discrete values?
- Device: Which parts handle digital information, and which may be analog?
- Media: Is the phrase referring specifically to electronic content stored digitally?
Keeping these distinctions clear prevents a common misunderstanding: a digital device, a digital signal, and digital information are related, but they are not the same thing.
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