SMILIES pro versus con

[Flint]

The format of pure text with which we attempt to communicate here is limited due to the absence of nuance provided via in-real-life speech. Non-verbal cues like hand gestures as well as the emphasis placed on the tone of certain words and phrases can contain as much, if not more meaning, in a normal speech-based conversation, than the words themselves. How do we compensate for this lack of nuance in a text-based format? How does the use of SMILIES factor into this?

Pro: SMILIES could be an indicator of these non-verbal communication elements, IE “I was only joking” or “Are you crazy?” etc.

Con: SMILIES could be an indicator that people have lost the ability to communicate meanings strictly through the use of the English language.

Given that we have the ability to format text in order to emphasize words approximately the way they would be spoken, I favor the Con position, that is, people would be better served by the use of proper English sentences than by pre-packaged imitations of human emotion. Do poets not express emotion through words?

Regarding the tendency of people to mask their true emotions, or purposefully express false emotions, this will occur both in real life and on the internet, however, it shouldn’t be as easy as clicking a fake emotion-button. That degrades us all, as human beings.