• grrgyle@slrpnk.net
    3·
    2 days ago

    I’ve really been struggling lately in a way that feels more serious than ever before lol

  • rarWars@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    13·
    3 days ago

    I’m Gen Z and I use lol as punctuation at the end of a sentence to indicate a lighthearted tone, just like a ? or ! indicate their respective tones. It’s very useful, and I think I’ll keep using it lol

    It fills a similar niche to tone tags but somewhat less intrusive imo.

    • karashta@sopuli.xyz
      8·
      2 days ago

      This has how it’s always been used as far as I have seen as an older millennial, aside from being used in a form of irony.

      It’s an upbeat tone indicator. But it’s not the same as sending someone a smile with your text.

      It fills a useful niche. Just like /s also does.

  • CultLeader4Hire@lemmy.world
    32·
    3 days ago

    I had to teach myself to say lol all the time via text and it absolutely helps with tone, so does using emoji which was something else I had to force myself to do. I seem less mature I guess but I don’t come off as a blunt asshole anymore and my conversations go a lot smoother

    • Monte_Crisco@thelemmy.club
      10·
      3 days ago

      I’m afraid I’ve used “lol” so much for so many years that this is exactly how people will interpret my texts if I suddenly stop now.

    • mika_mika@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 days ago

      I have been called weird or passive aggressive for using punctuation in my text messages. Why do we cater to these people? Why do I care about the opinion of someone who takes to heart whether I use an exclamation point or period at the end of a sentence? It should have been their problem to learn to not make assumptions.

      • SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        61·
        3 days ago

        Because you’re not following social conventions

        It’s also up to you to learn to work with others, conversation is a cooperative game. If you don’t give enough signs, people don’t know the tone you are intending to give over text, because body language and verbal tone is missing. That’s the purpose of the informal conventions

        It’s your problem to learn too

      • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
        5·
        3 days ago

        I’m a Xennial? Born in 1980 so last year of Gen X, first year of Millennials?

        I learned back in the early '90s that “lol” made my lighthearted comments appear lighthearted, and not cynical.

  • DiabolicalBird@lemmy.ca
    39·
    3 days ago

    Tone is an absolute bitch to convey properly over text, if you don’t add indicators it’s up to the reader to determine the tone you’re using. Miscommunication causes larger problems. Using lol helps indicate a lighter tone so people don’t think I’m pissed off or grumpy when I’m not

  • Soulphite@reddthat.com
    521·
    3 days ago

    Am millennial and have never once used that acronym. I always just type “haha” instead… haha

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      12·
      3 days ago

      Am millenial, I’ve used both lol and haha, since… I dunno, 1996?

      I distinctly remember the first time I accidentally said ‘lol’ outloud, as a single syllable, at the end of a sentence.

      • Obinice@lemmy.world
        41·
        3 days ago

        Millennials were ABSOLUTELY all about the lols, I can assure you. It was the most widely used acronym everywhere (second being brb, I would wager).

        We roflcopter’d and roflmao’d with the best of em! lol

      • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
        12·
        3 days ago

        I used/use it a lot, became the standard when I was on AIM.

        Mostly I feel people use it for tone and switch between the two. Then again I also respond with k too often apparently and have had spouses bring it up to me. “I’m going to pick up hot dog buns on the way home” k is apparently not always the proper response to such things apparently.

        K, lol, cool/kool, alright, nice, oh… Apparently make up a lot of what she calls my NPC responses.

        It’s not that I don’t care, it’s that there really isn’t a reason for me to send a flushed out response while I’m in a rush and or trying to respond at a red light. I’ll see them soon, if i thought something else should be picked up at the store when they were there id either say so or call if I thought it warranted a quick discussion.

        If I ask do you want tacos, sure is a perfectly valid response, we’ve shared a bed for 5 years… if I don’t know what you do and don’t like on a taco I wasn’t paying attention, if you want something you usually wouldn’t, then it makes sense to say more

    • Dozzi92@lemmy.world
      8·
      3 days ago

      But plenty of millennials did for sure. I’m 1987, was never a loler myself, but am certainly familiar enough with it.

      And admittedly, I have used it. My buddy and I used to sit in his room playing red alert 2, and one of us would do something dumb and the other would type “lol,” and then look across the room with a straight face. So I always imagined someone typing lol to be doing so with a completely straight face, the complete opposite of laughing out loud.

    • FosterMolasses@leminal.spaceEnglish
      6·
      3 days ago

      I tend to reserve haha for conveying mildly interesting observations in a nonthreatening manner

      “You must be their best customer to know that, haha”

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        4·
        3 days ago

        Same.

        ‘haha’ is more polite/cordial, more passive and may indicate essentially nervous laughter

        ‘lol’ is more blunt/informal, more aggressive and may potentially indicate mockery

    • CMLVI@piefed.socialEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      I did “haha” up until somewhat recently. I started using lol sarcastically, and it quickly bled over into the haha usage. I can’t break the habit either…

  • melsaskca@lemmy.ca
    8·
    2 days ago

    I was once sitting next to a colleague in a group pod who sent us an e-mail ending with “lol”. I turned to my left and called him out on it because that dude was quiet as a mouse.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
        4·
        2 days ago

        Yeah it’s a tone indicator “this may be taken as having a serious or upset tone, but wasn’t meant that way” though it also can mean “please don’t be upset” in the case of something like “sorry I disappeared for a bit, life happened lol”