by Joe Berkowitz
“The intention is usually to signal an informal, gossipy mode of expression, and perhaps parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse.”
“The intention is usually to signal an informal, gossipy mode of expression, and perhaps parody the level of unreflective enthusiasm or overstatement that can sometimes appear in online discourse.”
My face is set in a neutral expression as I type this, probably too dull to merit an emoticon. Let’s say I was smiling, though, or even laughing. Let’s say I was laughing so hard that part of my ass literally came off, on account of all the calories expended. You wouldn’t know it unless I mentioned it. Right now I’m conveying meaning through words only — complete, unadorned sentences. In other words, I’m conducting myself in the manner apparently most befitting a man.It has increasingly come to my attention that a lot of women consider the male usage of emoticons and LOL to be at best a ‘pet peeve,’ and at worst a ‘total dealbreaker.’ As someone who takes a spirited interest in the evolution of language, and conducts feverish, Talmudic research into what women find objectionable, I thought the matter could use some further scrutiny. What exactly is the problem here, and how bad is it?
First off, allow me to briefly distance myself from the behavior in question: I’m not much of a LOL-er, and I do 80% of my emoting with my actual face. While it’s polite to acknowledge when the person you’re texting with has made a humor-joke, I prefer to use the simple “haha,” rather than the stage-directiony LOL. As far as the declarative-sentence LOL goes, well, telegraphing the fact that you find what you’re saying to be funny seems at least as pointless as explaining to James Bond that you’re going to kill him, rather than just offing the bastard straightaway.
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