Have you ever written LOL! (without really laughing out loud)?

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   dashingscorpioposted 11 years ago

   Have you ever written LOL! (without really laughing out loud)?
   
   So often these days we write or receive comments that end with LOL! Quite awhile back I was in an office enviroment where I was sitting across from a co-worker sending an instant message relply of which I wrote lol! Then it dawned on me that if I were "laughing out loud" he would have heard me! (This thought really did make me laugh out loud). When you write (lol), Do you really mean you laughed out loud? or You found it "amusing"? or You're simply in agreement? lol!
   
   

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2. 59

   abbykorinneleeposted 11 years ago

   Yes I have done that.  There were different reasons the different times I have done it.  Something I texted or typed, after I sent the message, seemed it might come off mean or rude when it was a joke.  So I put lol to make sure it was viewed as a joke.  It is not easy to convey meanings sometimes when you don't have bodily language and facial cues at your disposal.
   
   Another reason I have done it is I didn't have anything to say and didn't want them to keep texting so I sent lol.  It worked at least after they texted back lol they didn't keep texting.
   
   Sometimes I am not laughing or smiling outwardly (like when I am hiding my phone under the desk in my women's lit class) but I am in my head.

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      dashingscorpioposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I bet you are not alone! I too have written lol! or typed :-) to make sure the reader knows my message/opinion was not intended to offend them.

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      abbykorinneleeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You know I noticed now that I have a teenager...that they don't look at people when they talk to them, their body language isn't matching what they say..I miss the good ole' days when interpersonal communication was more intimate in nature

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   M. T. Dremerposted 11 years ago

   Generally I don't ever laugh out loud when I send an lol text, or use it in a video game. Usually I'll reserve rofl or lmao to convey when I'm actually laughing. Like abbykorinnelee said, it's more so used now to convey a lighthearted tone or end a line of texting that you don't want to continue. Then, of course, you have the chronic lolers. People that seem to use 'lol' as a period to everything they say. I've had texts from these people before where they used it up to three times for a single, short, response. I'm not sure if it's a way to cut off drama/seriousness before it happens, or if they just can't stop themselves. But it's annoying and a psychology student could probably write an essay about what it actually means now.

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   1. 72

      dashingscorpioposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Okay "rofl"or "lmao" are the "new lol". I wonder how long it will be before there is another acronym to indicate when one is (seriously) laughing once (rofl and lmao) become overused.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 11 years ago

   Nope. I've always found the "LOL" acronym irritating as hell. (I prefer "haha" myself)...
   
   Even more irritating is the occasional "lolololololol"... when I see that I wonder "so is this person really laughing out loud, out loud, out loud, out loud, out loud, out loud?"

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   1. 72

      dashingscorpioposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      When you use "haha" does it mean you really laughed or that you were "amused"?

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      FatFreddysCatposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Amused.

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5. 63

   Rosyel Sawaliposted 11 years ago

   It seems LOL has come to mean laughing out loud silently! ^_^ I usually write it after having really laughed out loud.

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   edhanposted 11 years ago

   I just visited the site about LOL and it is great!
   
   It helps to relieve stress and I always believe we should be smiling or laughing as it helps to keep us healthy.

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7. 95

   Diana Grantposted 11 years ago

   Used sparingly, "lol" is a useful adjunct to our texting vocabulary. I gather that the intention behind it is a veritable range of statements:
   "That was brilliant - I'm really laughing out loud at this end"
   "that was funny - I'm smiling and inwardly chuckling" or
   "that was intended to be funny" or even
   "I suppose you think you're funny" or more unpleasantly
   "I'm being extremely rude and provocative, but only joking" or maliciously
   "I'm actually bullying you and being very offensive, but am avoiding being accused of cyber bullying because adding "lol" means it's light-hearted and means any of the above and is not menacing (even though it is really)"
   
   So, to answer your question, yes, I do occasionally laugh out loud after writing that useful three-letter acronym, but not normally!

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8. 72

   lburmasterposted 11 years ago

   When I type lol, that just means I smiled or gave a light laugh that barely lasted a second. If I really laughed, I would just tell them how much I laughed.

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   Kimberly Vaughnposted 11 years ago

   I feel like LOL is way overused. It looses its value when you use it all the time. I only use it every great once in a while when I actually laugh out loud.

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10. 59

    GGEniGmaposted 11 years ago

    I constantly put lol in my texts and online chats, I don't even know why.  Basically whenever something makes me smile, or I have a little internal chuckle or whatever, then I just slap it on.  I don't really even ever think about it.

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11. 0

    swilliamsposted 10 years ago

    I have an inner laugh which is similar to laughing out loud. Why? I this a dishonest measure? Lol! And I really did laugh out loud this time! :-)

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12. 61

    Penny Gposted 10 years ago

    I have never written it because I rarely laugh out loud. I small smile is about all I can produce.

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