Yes, there is a real difference between a hyphen vs. dash. And here's how these tiny marks can make a big difference in your writing.

the dash [which i write as space, hyphen-hyphen, space ], is a SEPARATOR. normally it is used pretty much to separate off a phrase -- sometimes in pairs, sorta substituting for parentheses.

Keyboard shortcuts: How to make a dash To make a dash on the keyboard, you use the key to the right of the zero, like you do for a hyphen, but it’s a little more complicated. Option-shift-hyphen ...