In the baby boomers generation or those born in the 1940 to 1960, it is no stranger to correspondence as a means or medium of communication. In this case, communication is carried out with limited space and time. The sender of the letter and the recipient of the letter are in a location that cannot possibly be close together. The length of time a letter is received can be days to weeks, depending on the distance between the sender and the recipient. Another thing that makes it complicated is that letters written on paper have to be put in envelopes, then stamped in order to send them through the POS office.
In 1971, Ray Tomlinson was the first person to send messages electronically, instead of printed mail. However, at that time the term e-Mail (electronic mail) was still unknown and messages were still being sent between one computer network or LAN (Local Area Network). It was only in the 1990 that e-Mail began to become global along with the discovery of the internet. The influence of the internet can make e-mail as an alternative medium in sending messages that are not bound by time.
Technology is growing when SMS (Short Messaging Services) was introduced in the same decade as the rise of e-Mail users on the internet. This is clearly a major advance in information and communication technology.
At that time people tended to use SMS to send short text messages, and use e-Mail when sending longer and more formal text messages. In contrast to e-Mail which requires an internet connection or data network, SMS actually requires a cellular operator network with sufficient credit to be able to send text messages.
Not only that, technological developments are also getting faster. The millennial generation really feels the impact of this technological development, especially when several instant messenger applications (instant messages) appeared on the smartphone platform in the era of 2000.
The emergence of this instant messenger is able to shift the existence of SMS as a short message sending application. Apart from being able to send media files such as images, audio, and video, instant messengers are more desirable because they provide emoticons as an expression of text language. Even if you pay attention to the applications installed on today's smartphones, you can find more than one instant messenger application such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Line, and many others.
The millennial generation uses instant messengers to communicate and exchange information using the latest language and vocabulary. Unlike the baby boomers, who are a little slow to adapt to technology. The baby boomers are not only required to be able to use instant messenger applications, but also have to understand trends or language styles in communicating in the millennial era where the use of the emoticon feature in the instant messenger application can represent the expression of a word or sentence in a text message.
Things about understanding in interpreting the meaning of emoticons in instant messengers can be seen in the communication that exists within a family. Within the family there must be two or more different generations. Just take for example our parents are the baby boomers generation and we are the millennial generation. In conditions like this, it is possible to misrespond to the meaning of emoticons sent by parents in text messages on instant messengers.
For example, a picture emoticon with a circle around the head () was interpreted by my parents as an expression of dizziness. But in my opinion, the emoticon is more accurately interpreted as an expression of gratitude, worship, or hope. Another example is a picture emoticon with water droplets on the nose () which my parents interpreted as an expression of having the flu. But in my opinion the emoticon is more accurately interpreted as an expression of sleeping, tired, or indifferent.
Miscommunication (error receiving information) can occur due to simple things such as the use of emoticons in text messages in instant messenger applications. In information behavior, the baby boomers generation not only has to adapt to technology, but also has to adapt to contemporary communication styles, one of which is by placing emoticons in the correct expression. But right or wrong the placement of emoticons can be judged from the perspective of each person.
When we choose to use an emoticon in an expression in a text message, we can interpret the meaning of the emoticon in passing by understanding the meaning of the image. However, in each perspective the meaning of the image can be different, such as the example of communication between children and parents described above.
Also imagine if a child communicates through an instant messenger application with generations whose intervals are even further apart like his grandparents. It is possible that the understanding of the meaning of the emoticon will be different, although not very significantly.
Actually there is nothing wrong with the way people interpret the meaning of emoticons. Emoticons themselves are not mandatory in a text conversation. Emoticons are used only to give expressions to emphasize the meaning of a message. But it's good if you interpret emoticons must refer to the global meaning, not the perspective itself. Even if we search the internet, we can find the meaning of every emoticon that exists.
This is so that later we can avoid miscommunication across generations, such as conversations in the family. As millennials, you should actively assist parents in the use of technology, for example in the use of emoticons in instant messenger applications.
