What emoji(s) do you like to use?
When this prompt popped up, I couldn’t help remembering this sentence thought by Eleanor(From the book Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine) after receiving a simple smiley response. “Twenty-first-century communication. I fear for our nation’s standards of literacy.” I had often wondered the same. Our use of smileys imply our inability to express our thoughts effectively or is it a more fun way of expressing ourselves? I am torn between these two trains of thought. On one side, smileys make communication more crisp and clear. On the other side, the innumerable smileys and their perceived meaning make me wonder if I am using it in the way it is meant to be used. It is even exhausting to think about such things.
The prompt has thrown me into another dilemma. I hope the idea behind this prompt was to have something fun to write about. I have taken it in the opposite direction. I am such a party pooper. Coming back to the prompt and answering it as honestly as I could, I am prone to the use of using wide grinning smiley (:D) much more frequently than the rest. The irony is that I rarely have such wide grinning faces. On most days, even a normal smile is an exception, forget about a wide grinning face. Yet, I tend to give others the perception that I am doing alright. Is it deception from my end? I do not think so. When the communication is between people who are close to me, I don’t tend to use many smileys. The conversations revolve around our shared existential crisis and we have enough words to express that clearly. Smileys are necessary when we first try to establish a connection or in a case when we are joking around with our loved ones. It loses its importance in our most intimate conversations.
We live in a world where we resort to textual communication more often than actual conversations over the phone or in person. It’s been years since I had a phone conversation with some friends who are closer to me. Many of us are not able to find the energy to put that effort into talking. We are a generation of exhausted people and pandemic has taken it to the next level. I hope, if ever there is a “normal” tomorrow, we find the energy and willingness to have that in-person calls/meetings rather than depending on the smileys.
