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Kill the Web's Dumbest, Most Annoying Symbol: The Smiley X-(
They're everywhere. The entire landscape of the digital age is just crawling with them. Like Volkswagen-sized subway rats or hipsters clad in plaid, smileys are so universally ubiquitous that you hardly notice them anymore. But how much is too much? At what point do we assert our evolutionary claim to language, slam our fists on our keyboards, and scream "Enough is enough!"? Is it time that we finally kill the smiley?
Mary Elizabeth Williams, in a pleasantly snarky article for Salon, tackles these questions in perhaps the best articulated diatribe against the typographical glyph that we've all come to love... or hate. Williams bemoans the proliferation of the smiley species, describing them as cheap, cop-out alternatives to prose, and an annoying means to annotate passive aggressiveness. Above all, though, she sees the smiley as superfluous. As she says, "trust that if something is making you smile, you can tell me about it and I'll understand."
It's hard to blame her disdain for emoticons on any sort of generational technology gap: she's only 40, and, as she astutely points out, "the emoticon does not discriminate on the basis of age," as it's been appropriated by grandmas and grade-schoolers alike. No, whatever's irking Williams is more deep-seated. And while it's easy for the emoticon-inclined to disregard the article as mere rant, her main point is sound: smileys distill communication into symbols, quick and dirty, which may make communication easier, but also more stupid.
To a certain extent, we've gotta agree, and even think she could've gone on for longer, especially considering the ridiculosity that's invaded the genre recently. Take, for example, the tongue smiley -- :P. When was the last time you actually stuck your tongue out at someone? Is that supposed to be a mocking gesture? A Michael Jordan caricature? A stroke victim? These are the kinds of things that this article got us thinking. So some sort of global smiley-cide might be a bit extreme, we should at least consider taking things down a notch. ;) [From: Salon]
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Comments
48
Subscribe to commentsJoyceDec 9th 2009 11:13PM
Well said, Vicky!!
Being an "old lady" of 60, I came to computer use much later in life than today's generation, who grew up using them. I've been retired for 4+ years from a 39 year career with the Federal Government, where I received most of my computer training. While I agree that emoticons don't belong in offical or business communications, I use them freely and often in personal communications and, like so many others have noted, find they help express the actual "emotion" intended by my message.
Amar Toor and Mary Williams - lighten up!! You seem to take yourselves and your personal opinions way too seriously.
CathyDec 9th 2009 11:36PM
what a stick in the mud...why don't you go rain on somebody else's parade...party pooper!!
Geegee DavisDec 9th 2009 11:51PM
Not me.. I would never even think to use one.. I am too old fashioned I guess, or maybe a little retarded.
JohnDec 10th 2009 12:08AM
I suppose you and Mary Elizabeth have never heard that "a picture [symbol] is worth a thousand words."
MarkDec 10th 2009 12:15AM
As usual AOL..... post a RELEVANT comment (not one pushing a dating site).. get the standard "you did it and an email will be sent to you", and then, nothing. No email, the comment never gets posted... what the heck am I paying you for? Does anyone else have this constant problem? It's no wonder so many people criticize AOL.
SuzyDec 10th 2009 12:55AM
What a moronic article! First of all, she didn't clearly articulate anything if she wrote it. Articulation refers to speech. Something can't be well articulated when it is written. Furthermore, communication is FAR more than language--spoken or written. Any language expert will tell you that we communicate more indirectly each day than directly through words--written or spoken. Babies communicate with their mothers in a myriad of ways without speaking or writing at all. Language is only about 30% of communication. Emoticons are meant to express our facial expressions and our body language. Like others have mentioned, they allow us to insert the nuances and intonations into web communications that are otherwise lost. Internet communication will never be the same as face to face communication regardless of how eloquently written it might be. Writing well is not going to make up for the body language that is lost when trying to communicate via the internet. I love reading and the written word, but human communication is far more than just language.
metalgddessDec 10th 2009 12:59AM
They killed Clippit, now they are going after the Happy Face.... sickos
carrieseventsDec 10th 2009 2:00AM
This is particularly humorous to me, because I spent significant time tonight searching Google images for various emoticons to save to my hard drive for use in e-mails. (I don't care for the ones that come with my e-mail, they're too small.) How funny to find this article just after that!
Here's the thing though, I'm a 42 year old woman, so I'm right in Ms. Williams' demographic. I pride myself in texting and e-mailing in complete sentences, which are grammatically correct and contain no misspelled words. I am a communications professional, and yet I find emoticons very useful for indicating tone and inflection in casual correspondence.
I say, to each his (or her) own. If you don't like them, don't use them; but there's no need to be so disdainful of those who do! =)