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Emojis are fine. But I remember the first times I started seeing "LOL" and "ROTFLMAO". And I realized that the person wasn't really laughing, but they were quie
by zkhalique 11y ago
Emojis are fine. But I remember the first times I started seeing "LOL" and "ROTFLMAO". And I realized that the person wasn't really laughing, but they were quietly typing that on the keyboard. If you think about it, before AIM and online chat (way before texting), people hardly ever faked their emotions so much. I mean, you could fake a small laugh, but you didn't outright say that you're rolling on the floor laughing, while you weren't even cracking a smile physically. That would be impossible over the phone, and AFAIK people didn't do it over email, either. It's a product of the instant-message culture.
And it also symbolizes the disconnect between the online persona on facebook, posting all those cool photos, and the real-world person sitting by the computer all those lonely nights. The emotions and the fulfillment of the emotions have become stilted, computers now provide a superstimulus (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernormal_stimulus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernormal_stimulus) that replaces deep, real-life conversations with a steady stream shallow online interactions. Notifications pull us back in for more like an addictive slot machine. And our kids are ill-equipped to fight it, which is why they spend a great deal of their lives addicted to effectively meaningless communication with people who are not next to them:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/benrosen/how-to-snapchat-like-the-teens http://www.buzzfeed.com/benrosen/how-to-snapchat-like-the-te...
- jgrahamc 11y agoIf you think about it, before AIM and online chat (way before texting), people hardly ever faked their emotions so much In the late 1980s terms like LOL were used on BBSes and on Usenet. Perhaps you just aren't old enough to remember that? :-)
- bdreadz 11y agoThank you. On BBSes and even IRC /me laughs, /me <action|emotion> Before LOL I'd use hahaha or hehehe all the time as well in IRC, Chat Rooms, BBSes, etc.
- Tiksi 11y ago* Tiksi slaps bdreadz around a bit with a large trout. I remember reading a study that people laugh more around other people. Anecdotally, I can definitely see this in myself. If I find something funny that isn't shared with other people, I might not outwardly laugh, and it would look like my lol, rofl, hahaha, etc isn't genuine, but with a group of people I'd probably be laughing out loud at the same thing. It might just be expressing the same emotion differently.
- kagamine 11y agoYou can now try the Japanese lol: www. It's the literal sound of a chuckle/giggle/light laughter. So when you say it aloud, you need only laugh naturally. To see it in action go to http://nicovideo.jp http://nicovideo.jp and pick pretty much any video. Start watching with comments on, they scroll over the video, and marvel at the trails of www(wwwwwwwwwww).
- bpd1069 11y agoalso irc (EFNet) made use of emoticons, and 'lol's. The longest I remember wa ROTFLMAOASTC.
- Swizec 11y agoI often say "lol" in real life to denote "I appreciate your attempt at being funny and agree that it was indeed humorous, but it wasn't funny enough to laugh laugh" Because, like, what do you do when someone puts effort into a joke and you want to give them positive reinforcement, but you're just not in a laughing mood? Or it was funny in the abstract, but you're the wrong audience? Another approach I've seen was "Heh, that's funny." ... but I'm not sure if that's better or worse than "lol"
- cm2012 11y ago"lol" is an amazingly useful addition to written, casual language. It's the textual equivalent of a smile/head nod in normal conversation. Remember that in physical conversation, body language conveys 80-90% of the message - phrases like "lol" and emojis take the place of body language.
- tekromancr 11y agoPossibly interesting side note, I have noticed over the last few years the vocalization of 'lol' being used more and more genuinely as an affirmation of a mildly humorous situation or statement that didn't actually happen to produce a laugh. I think it started being used sarcastically or ironically, but has lost that attribute for the most part.
- things 11y agoI've seen this mainly with non-native English speakers. It may have migrated from there too.
- M2Ys4U 11y agoAbout a decade ago one of my friends took to saying the word "sigh" (deadpan, with no intonation in his voice) instead of actually sighing. It annoyed me to no end.
- tremon 11y agoYes, I noticed that too. I always thought it was a Dutch thing, since "lol" is a proper Dutch word meaning "fun".
- kofejnik 11y agoIn online and SMS Russian, a single ), reduced from standard :), is used so often that omitting it carries a kind of serious/angry meaning much like talking in a stern voice irl
- nly 11y agoIt's exceptionally rare to read the transcript of a conversation or story and to physically burst out laughing. A huge part of humour is in the context ("you had to be there") and the delivery. The current use of "lol" and "lmao" just makes a whole lot more sense than their hijacked and literal definition... it's about replacing what would normally be subtle visual cues and gestures, which signal acknowledgement and/or encouragement, with something that is universally understood.
- chris_wot 11y agoSometimes using shorthand can be disasterous for those getting to grips with it. I remember reading some time ago that someone's daughter had to explain to her mother that her friend was upset because when she wrote "I'm so sorry for your loss, lol" that lol does not stand for "lots of love".
- darkr 11y agoOur prime minister had the same problem, often signing off his text messages "LOL, DC". As a country, we collectively lol'd
- im3w1l 11y agoIt seems like there is a general trend that very strong expressions get watered down over time, and we invent new expressions to replace them.