Smileys and emoticons are used in written forms of communication to describe a particular emotion or mood that is within the message that is sent. They consist of eyes formed by colons (or semicolons to show winking) and mouths formed by various letters or symbols ranging from a D to symbolize a large smile or a left hand parentheses to express sadness. Here are several example: : ( ; ) : D.
The difference between emoticons and smileys is that emoticons are not made of text symbols but are instead little pictures that express emotions. You can find them at smiley Central.
These symbolic expressions have risen to prominence thanks to rise of text messaging, not just on cell phones, but also through instant messaging or message board posts. The key requirement for the acceptance of smileys is that the form of communication is written and informal.
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.
While the early use of smileys expressed only happiness and sadness, the variety of symbols has increased to now be able to show disbelief, anger, surprise and playfulness as well.
Emoticons are used more by females than males which may be attributed to females being more adept at using them and possibly to females being more in tune with the nuances of expressing emotions in text.
Those who criticize the use of emoticons as being detrimental to the depth of human communication do not address the benefits of using them for quicker messages with more intimate text messages.
Use of emoticons has hit a plateau as all the smiley text combinations have been discovered. The future or more nuanced symbols lies in message forums...
Read full article on: All About MySpace
Sunday, June 1, 2008
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