LOL

In a world of instant messaging, cell phones, computers, texting, and X-rated advertisements in our homes, why is it that one of the most common things going out of style is laughing?

lol, or for those computer and messaging illiterate, laughing out loud, is one of the most common abbreviations in our pop culture today. Used commonly and without remorse by those old and young alike, it is short, sweet, and to the point.

There are, of course, several variations on the previously mentioned standard, such as lmao (laughing my ass off), lqtm (laughing quietly to myself), and the ever popular rotflmao (rolling on the floor laughing my ass off).

More and more, it seems to me that while these pervade our internet and written language, they also seem to be leaking into our spoken word as well. In place of literally laughing, people simply say ‘lol.’ As a bystander from the beginning, I find this ‘evolution’ in our social communication just a bit sad. Why does it seem, I wonder to myself, that people seem to be loosing grip on the lines between expression in life and on paper?

Why is it, I wonder, that in our world full of communication, where previously laughing was an extremely popular expression of your feelings, has it been replaced by a simple set of letters? Why is it that in this day and age, we can no longer bring ourselves to really laugh out loud?