ABSTRACT
Internet e-mail and chat have the disadvantages of not allowing users to adequately express emotions. Someone can make a statement in jest, or with an ironic intent, and have it taken at face value. To help alleviate this problem, emoticons have evolved. The term emoticon is short for emotion icon. Combinations of punctuation marks, numbers, and letters, usually viewed sideways, are used to help express a writer’s mood. The most famous emoticon of all is the basic “smiley”, or “:-)”. Other facial expressions followed the smiley, including the “frowny”, “wink”, and “crying face”. Creative inventions abound with endless possibilities.
