We're all guilty of it, responding with lol to a text or message online and we're really not laughing out loud. Why do we do that?
Lol has now become the internet's way of saying "cool" or "I think that's funny", giving some sort of visual confirmation as a response to someone. Apparently some guy in Canada started it in a chatroom (but who can verify that legend really).
Ah, the silent lol...let me demonstrate:
Friend: hey
Me: what's up
Friend: nm just chillen
Me: cool
Friend: Anna is here with me acting crazy
Me: lol
Okay did I really just laugh out loud? No I did not... and believe me, I'm pretty sure my friend knows I didn't either but somehow that silent lol is enough to suffice a decent response from me to his comment.
Lol is now just as equivalent as someone saying haha in text without really laughing. Think about it the next time you type lol I bet you're not laughing at all in fact I bet you have the straightest face on.
The internet...smh...yes, smh that's a whole different topic because I'm not really shaking my head either. It's as if we have two personas online, the person we are behind the screen and the person we are inside the screen. Next time you use an internet acronym online I'm sure you'll remember this article.
Lol, hmm and k are conversation killers. When you have nothing more to say you use these words to get rid of the person you are chatting with.