ELI5: What is latency?

10 views Feb 16, 2026 1 min read

Imagine you're playing catch with a friend. Latency is like the tiny delay between when you throw the ball and when your friend catches it.

  • When you throw the ball, it takes some time to travel through the air.
  • That travel time is the latency.
The faster the ball travels (like a super-fast baseball pitch), the lower the latency. The slower the ball travels (like a gently tossed balloon), the higher the latency.

Let's say you're talking to your Grandma on a video call.

  • You say "Hello!".
  • Latency is the time it takes for your Grandma to hear you say "Hello!".
If the latency is low, she hears you almost instantly. If the latency is high, there's a noticeable delay, and it might be a little awkward.

Think about ordering pizza online:

  • You click "Order Now!".
  • Latency is the time it takes for the pizza place to receive your order.
If there's a lot of latency, you might wonder if your order even went through!

So, latency is just the time delay between something happening and you noticing it. Lower latency is usually better, making things feel faster and smoother. Higher latency can make things feel slow and unresponsive.

Follow-Up Questions

Still curious? Ask a follow-up!

Test Your Understanding

Take a quick quiz and challenge your friends!

Want to learn more?

Ask another question and get a simple explanation!

Ask a New Question