Apr 13, 9:00 am
Last week I became involved in twitter spat that made me sit back in wonder at the level of silliness of people on the internet. A guy that had been tweeting back and forth to me since I first started using twitter, made some derogotory remarks about a woman I do not know in another gaming organization. As I had chatted with him before, I thought derail his remarks into a joke by sending this picture…
Yep, this is a coffee filter that was jokingly sent to distract from the hostility of his flurry of tweets about this woman. He proceeded to get very angry and told me, “Please image the rudest possible response. Pretend it came from me.” and stopped following me. After the initial shock of his reaction, I had to sit back and think about why he would take something that was a harmless joke so seriously? Then it hit me, other than him just being completely psychotic, maybe it was because I didn’t add something I usually always add when in an Internet texting flurry: an emoticon!
Most people understand what an emoticon is, but if you are behind on the times (by decades), I like Wikipedia’s explanation: “An emoticon is a facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, usually to express a writer’s mood. Emoticons are often used to alert a responder to the tenor or temper of a statement, and can change and improve interpretation of plain text.” Emoticons started in the form of plain text, but have graduated to include graphical interpretations of emotions, and even hobbies, activities, etc. Here are some examples of commonly used emotes
With the lack of face-to face communications, emoticons, as well as Internet lingo, are there to simply help relay YOUR context and emotions when you are typing your messages. I have long been teased, by the more jaded of my friends, that I abuse the emoticon usage rights. While you shouldn’t go overboard in the usage of emoticons, I still think a strong case exists that you should use them somewhat regularly- unless your simply an anarchist that doesn’t want to conform or care about what anyone thinks of you. Although this is a mass number of people all thinking they are cool, they really they are just rude and mean in my eyes…
Who knows if I had added a ; ) or ^^ if this guy would have taken me so seriously. Would a <3 have stopped a nerd rage? Usually it would, but not always. Do I care if people misinterpret my meaning and pull me in a slappy fight or get upset with me? You bet I do- to a point at least!
While it’s can be maddening that we do need to contemplate putting emoticons in our online communications, people have to understand that without physical interaction you cannot guarantee the context in which your message may be perceived. It’s proven that perception is a reality, and online this couldn’t be truer. Without a real face and voice intonations to guide you, people can only go by what they think you are trying to communicate. Obviously, your relationship levels play a factor in people’s reaction to you, but online is a very open and teasing environment as everyone fights for ways to look clever and be entertaining to the masses.
This is why it is my policy that it’s not just WHAT you say, it’s the emoticons you say it with! Let’s look this with an example of my tweet that cost me a follower (oh joy!):
VS.
“Hey I got ya something, let me know where to ship it <3!”
In this example, the context is completely changed with the addition of the “I love you” text emoticon. Added at the last moment, this symbol distills any true fear that you are being hated on and shows that you are simply being teased.
Now, will adding an emoticon stop anyone from getting angry when you say something in a joking manner? No, some people are just hyper-sensitive no matter what and sometimes people are indeed using them in snarky ways. But 99% of the time a REASONABLE person will take it as you poking some harmless fun or being silly. However, when you remove that emote you are certainly taking a much larger risk at getting someone angry, depending on your relationship with them.
When I first started to write this blog, I intended it to be a rant about being FORCED to use emoticons so people don’t take me out of context, but during the course of it I changed my mind. While it can be frustrating to try and get people to understand what you are saying, emoticons and internet lingo are there to help you portray your points and comments and should be used accordingly. So now, my stance on this war turns more towards the people that don’t even endeavor to communicate better- although I still feel over sensitive people really need to look at themselves as well.
In our online communities and social networks we have an abundance of individual personalities that are all meshed together in our channels and feeds. The only way we can interact positively and relieve potential drama, is by indentifying and using the tools available to us to at least TRY to communicate effectively. That’s why I will be following up this blog in the coming weeks with guides to the usage of emoticons and internet lingo in the hopes that others will consider their importance.
Ultimately, when it comes down to using emoticons, you really have to ask yourself if you want people to understand what you are trying to say. Rebel all you want, but why even waste your time talking to people if you don’t care how they interpret your meaning? To me, if you don’t take the time to even attempt to make yourself understood accurately, you might as well acknowledge you DON’T have anything important to say at all.
So what’s your stance on the Emoticon War?
SHARE THIS:
