(Because no one really wants to think on Sunday…)
GeekSugar has a series of Tech Dating 101 posts that I normally ignore, due to the fact that I am not dating and that, even if I was, I find dating advice to be generally inane, but I saw a link to a post on emoticon overuse and, curious about other people’s thoughts on punctuation facial expressions, I thought I would see what the tech dating expert at GeekSugar had to say on the topic.
Best quote:
I received some solid emoticon advice recently: “Don’t ever use an emoticon smiley face with a guy you don’t want to make out with.”
LOL 
The post turned out to be about a woman who wasn’t sure if she wanted to date a guy due to his overuse of emoticons in text messages. She thought it was too weird.
Dude, run far away from this girl, seriously.
Honestly, it seems that there would be so many other things to evaluate when dating. I can’t imagine emoticon use being high on the list.
Oh, yeah, and I am so glad that I am not dating. 
I have a sort of love-hate relationship with emoticons. My opinion ranges from completely stupid to useful at conveying tone in a medium inherently prone to misunderstanding.
One rule I do have is to not use them in blog posts. It seriously detracts from the impression one gets of my intelligence level. (I think this post is an obvious exception.)
I use them in certain settings, but overall I am not a big fan. Often, when I do use them, it’s to mock the online/IM culture or to be sarcastic, like when I say “YAY!” There are a few people that I do use them with, mostly close friends, who use them also.
I’m not sure if I have ever used one with a guy that I wouldn’t make out with. 
So, what do you think about emoticons? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Don’t care, so much so that you want the minutes back that you spent reading this post?
Leave a comment.
