Different Emotions of Smileys

Smiley faces, or emoticons, denote the emotion that someone wants to express. The more expressive the emotion of the smiley, the better the other person is able to understand what you are feeling and what you really mean to say. In face-to-face conversation people don't just listen to the words, they also see your face and body language. Smileys bridge this gap on the Internet since the other person can only read what you type in a box.

Types

Smileys come in many different types. Most people recognize the yellow face with the dots for eyes and the smile or frown. However, clever developers have made many other versions of smileys, including leaves, music notes, articles of clothing and animals. All of these smileys have a face with several expressions that you can choose while you are chatting online with your friends.

General

Basic smileys provide expressions for smiling, frowning, laughing, crying and a few more advanced expressions such as rolling on the floor laughing, rolling your eyes, sticking your tongue out, kissing, blushing, sighing and even tapping your toe waiting. Instant messenger programs provide these standard smileys as part of the service. Take the time to review these smiley icons so you can express yourself when you chat online.

Advanced

Some sites (see References) have gone even further to give you the opportunity to express how you feel to the people you chat with online. They have created romance smiley icons, smileys for special events, bad boys, random and adult smiley icons. Use these icons appropriately when you talk to your friends online.

Benefits

Having a smiley icon to express exactly how you feel when you chat online with your friends makes for a better conversation with less misunderstanding. For example, if you say, "I am having a good day," but you mean it sarcastically because your day has gone wrong, the person on the other end won't take up on your sarcasm without further explanation. However, if you include a smiley icon with a tongue sticking out, a tongue in cheek or rolling on the floor laughing, this gives the other person a clue that you don't mean exactly what your words say.

Warning

When you download new icons, it is hard to resist overusing them. Do not flood your chat or personal instant message with every cute new smiley icon you have unless the person on the other end agrees that she would like to see them. Although smiley icons lend meaning to a conversation, if you abuse them, they may distort your meaning.

References

• My Emoticons

Resources

• Find Smileys Here