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Using Symbols to Show Emotion in Text

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Written by Heather Simpson

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

by HeatherSimpson

Smileys are used frequently to add emotion to the text we write today. Making a colon with a capital D : D makes a big smile to emphasis how we feel about the subject we are expressing. Semicolons are used for a wink ; and left parentheses for a frown ( or right parentheses for a smile ).

The difference between the two is that smileys use purely text characters while the second group are pictures of little yellow faces which express the same emotions of the text smiles but without the usage of text based characters. Such little pictures can be had from smileyCentral.

The acceptance of the smileys for informal and written messages are largely due to the abundance of communications by text messages, message boards and instant messaging (IM).

Since the rise of the internet and wireless digital telecommunication these forms of communication have taken prominence and often youth were the first to integrate these forms of communication in their lives. It is rare to find youth today who are ignorant of the usage and meaning of smileys.

The expressions have evolved quiet a bit since the early development of these symbols. At first they only expressed happiness or sadness, but now they can express nuanced emotions like disbelief, anger, playfulness and surprise.

Females use the emoticons much more often than males. This may be due to feeling more comfortable in expressing emotions or they may be more versed in using telecommunication nuance techniques.

Some have criticized the use of these symbols as detrimental to the depth of human communication, but these don't address the obvious benefits of use. These benefits include faster communication, the allowance of intimate text messages with little effort.

The future of these symbols seems to have plateaued. All expressions possible using text characters seem to have been used up. Emoticons can display a wider range of emotions since they are not limited. The future of more nuanced symbols lies within message forums since their text messages are often longer and more detailed, thus requiring a wider range of symbols.

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If you want your own emoticons , or want to share your thoughts on emoticons , just go to SmileySmileySmiley.com. You will be glad you did.

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