Are we being more and more dependent on smileys?
By getbiswa2000
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
India
April 6, 2010 12:45am CST
Hello friends,
I was quite relieved when I reached above 200 rankings in myLot. Do you know why? Its just because I could use those emotes. 
It seemed to me that a real treasure is unlocked to me. The Smileys. I frequently use those smileys while chatting, sending emails and even while sending text messages to my friends. Now, this is really going to be an obsession. I feel I am being more and more dependent on these emotes. I feel that these smileys have taken away the true spirit of my writing. How effective can a sentence be when funny heads are popping up from it? I feel like my strength to express myself has been restricted. Without those smileys I feel lost.
What do you think about those emotes? Do you think that they are taking away the power of expression? Do you think that they are harming our writing abilities?
Please feel free to share your views with us.
Thanks in advance for your response.
God bless you
It seemed to me that a real treasure is unlocked to me. The Smileys. I frequently use those smileys while chatting, sending emails and even while sending text messages to my friends. Now, this is really going to be an obsession. I feel I am being more and more dependent on these emotes. I feel that these smileys have taken away the true spirit of my writing. How effective can a sentence be when funny heads are popping up from it? I feel like my strength to express myself has been restricted. Without those smileys I feel lost.
What do you think about those emotes? Do you think that they are taking away the power of expression? Do you think that they are harming our writing abilities?
Please feel free to share your views with us.
Thanks in advance for your response.
God bless you3 people like this
9 responses
@lingli_78 (12822)
• Australia
6 Apr 10
not for me... in fact, i even hardly use it here... i don't really like that kind of thing and when i type, i just like to type my sentences like that without adding anything... that's just me... take care and have a nice day...
1 person likes this
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
8 Apr 10
Hi,
I think you appreciate neatness in writing. I also guess that you rely mostly on your words to express yourself properly. This is good and proves that you have a good command in your language. I appreciate your dropping by.
God bless you
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
6 Apr 10
I love the emotes too, they are definitely there for a reason and I'm loving it all the same. Without these emotes, I think writing might not be expressed in a fun way at all.. like all these emotes add on to the fun. And if there could be more in future added on by myLot, that will be more awesome.
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
8 Apr 10
Hello dear,
That is a really important point you made. The "fun" in writing is added by those smileys. Common human conversation always involves expressions to complete the sense of every sentence. Now, written form of communication lacks that feature. This is to some extent supplemented by introduction of emoticons. Thanks so much for your participation.
God bless you
1 person likes this
@kalav56 (11464)
• India
6 Apr 10
Good morning Biswa!
I love using the smileys and personally I feel thta they add meaning to the post.WHen we chat in person, don't we smile, clap, frown or
show fear on our faces?Here we are chatting through the net.So, the smileys only enhance the power of our words.On the other hand if we jsut use smileys without thinking then it is going to be 
meaningless.
I love using the smileys and personally I feel thta they add meaning to the post.WHen we chat in person, don't we smile, clap, frown or
show fear on our faces?Here we are chatting through the net.So, the smileys only enhance the power of our words.On the other hand if we jsut use smileys without thinking then it is going to be meaningless.@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
6 Apr 10
Hi there,
I completely agree with what you've said. But, there are some English words for those exclamations too. Don't we think that its a slow but sure deformation of Standard written English language?
(Keep it secret, I love those smileys. I find ample use of those emotes while chatting in rooms. Sometimes people with exceptional intelligence find it hard to laugh at jokes. Then I suggest that it was a joke by using those smileys. I wonder what I would do without those emotes. Life on internet would be so dull 
)
Yeah, so what was I saying? Yeah, so, I think we should limit the use of smileys and try to use appropriate English words instead.
Thanks for the participation.
God bless you
I wonder what I would do without those emotes. Life on internet would be so dull )
Yeah, so what was I saying? Yeah, so, I think we should limit the use of smileys and try to use appropriate English words instead.
Thanks for the participation.
God bless you1 person likes this
@kalav56 (11464)
• India
6 Apr 10
Some people, however intelligent they are cannot laugh at jokes .I know of a few i n my close circles.THe reason is htey lack a sense of humour.Irrespective of words or emoticons they would stillnot understand the joke setsuna.THis is my personal observation and so I avoid giving them any jokes.Our fun would also reduce when they turn a joke flat.
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
6 Apr 10
Well,
Sometimes I think that my sense of humor is gone or, perhaps my jokes are gross. Well that can be a possibility as well. I have to joke with some serious people and see if I can make them laugh. Sounds like a pathological testing. So, be it.
@Elixiress (3878)
•
9 Apr 10
I think that emotes are overused and it annoys me when I see text with loads of faces in it.
I only use them if the mood I am conveying the message in could be taken the wrong way by the reader. For example:
"You are so annoying"
This could be taken as a harsh comment, so if I mean it as a joke I will put a :p emotion so the reader realises it is a joke.
Another example would be if someone said:
"I am pregnant"
Some people would be happy about this, some people would be unhappy about this. So it would be a good idea to put a :) face or a :( face after the remark.
However I find when people say hi :) it can be annoying. The word hi does not have any strong emotional attachment so the emote is not needed.
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
9 Apr 10
Hi,
This is exactly what I was talking about. I remember a conversation that was something like this,
her: Hello [smile]
me: Hi
her: [blushing]
her: [blushing like hell]
her: How r u?
me: I am f9. Thanks wht abt u?
her: [grin] fine 2
me: [smile]
After this there was an exchange of emotes for 5 more minutes. Then I don't know why, but quite miraculously my YM crashed.
God bless you
@Leixa003 (867)
• Philippines
6 Apr 10
I also felt happy to able to use emoticons. And I do not think it harms my writing but rather it signals the correct feeling for your statements. Like sometimes when you want to tell a joke on-line you have to put the word (JOKE!) to emphasize that it is just a joke but when you use these emoticons it would just be or 
. I sometimes exceed the limit of 3 smileys and thus saw that warning message. Hope there would be more emoticons here in mylot in the near future. Happy myloting.
or . I sometimes exceed the limit of 3 smileys and thus saw that warning message. Hope there would be more emoticons here in mylot in the near future. Happy myloting. @getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
8 Apr 10
Hi Leixa,
I totally agree. You know, there is this limitation of this non verbal form of communication. No matter how good our rhetoric is, it always remains incomplete and somewhat partial in meaning. The expression of a face is so important in a conversation. Well, these emotes fill that hole a bit. Thanks so much for this wonderful participation.
God bless you
1 person likes this
@Leixa003 (867)
• Philippines
8 Apr 10
Hi hetbiswa2000,
The smileys help the reader too in understanding what the writer want to convey and it helps clarify any misunderstanding if any. For example the sentence "I feel offended" when read like that can mean as a statement of being offended but if written in this way "I feel offended 
" gives a whole lot of new meaning to the sentence. Happy myloting and keep on using those cute smileys.
" gives a whole lot of new meaning to the sentence. Happy myloting and keep on using those cute smileys. 
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
6 Apr 10
There was a time when the smileys we have here are only a few. A lot of members requested and suggested for more smileys options and the admin did just that. Smileys are one of the most effective way to convey our emotions online. It certainly helped a lot in expressing their emotions without having to write a paragraph about it.
@ybong007 (6643)
• Philippines
7 Apr 10
I agree. too many smileys can be distracting already and beats the whole purpose of writing and the whole paragraph as a whole. Smileys should be kept at a minimum and used as highlights only or if you want to emphasize something. I think it is already annoying when you see more of those yellow faces than the sentences.
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
6 Apr 10
Hi,
Well. I am not talking about myLot only. Take Yahoo messenger for example. It uses a lot of smileys. I have seen people who can't write a single sentence without those smileys. This sometimes looks awkward don't you think? myLot has restricted the use of smileys in a single post. You can use only 3 smileys per post, which I think is good. Too many smileys often ruins the qualities of your composition. I am personally very fond of using those emotes. I really like those funny faces and use them especially while chatting. Thanks so much for your response.
God bless you
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
7 Apr 10
Hi biswa! Don't feel bad about using the smileys! The are lots
of fun to use! I do know what you mean though! Sometimes when
I am writing an email to someone and I am looking to use one
and they aren't there I don't know what to do!
But, it is just something that makes writing on here just a
little bit more fun and gives our discussions and responses
a little more life! I don't really think that it is taking
away the power of expression! I don't think that will ever
happen! We still will always need words to express what we
want to say!
But, it is just something that makes writing on here just a
little bit more fun and gives our discussions and responses
a little more life! I don't really think that it is taking
away the power of expression! I don't think that will ever
happen! We still will always need words to express what we
want to say!@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
8 Apr 10
Hi Opal,
You are such a nice person, so kind and optimist. I am so glad to have your responses in my discussions. I totally agree with what you said here. I also sometimes feel quite dependent on smileys. But, I think they are just used to supplement those expressions that we would have used in real life conversations. Written English has a few limitations that can be minimized by those emotes. Thanks so much for your participation dear.
God bless you
@bananamen1 (442)
• Bulgaria
6 Apr 10
I like them a lot. Very often I express with them something that I wouldn't tell so good with words. Sometimes I miss them in the real life :)
@getbiswa2000 (5545)
• India
8 Apr 10
Hi,
LOL You miss them in real life? You are no less dependent on smileys than I am. This is why I sometimes feel that my strength in English language has been attenuated by excessive usage of these smileys. I don't know 
Thanks so much for your response.
God bless you
You miss them in real life? You are no less dependent on smileys than I am. This is why I sometimes feel that my strength in English language has been attenuated by excessive usage of these smileys. I don't know Thanks so much for your response.
God bless you
@besthope44 (12123)
• India
11 Sep 10
True..Smiley is cute and best way to express any emotions, it also conveys our feelings at its best.
