Is There an Emoji for That?
When texting and emojis were a new thing, I remember thinking to myself from an editor’s perspective, “Aw, man, social media’s going to be even MORE painful to read!” Plenty of people already struggled with spelling and grammar, and there seemed to be a growing aversion to writing in complete sentences. Now we were going to shorten things even more and turn them into pictures? What was happening to language?? My eyes started to twitch from the imagined horror. 😮
But when I finally got over those fuddy-duddy instincts (something I fight with constantly in my 40s), I realized what emojis could do for a sarcastic chick like me. Ever since I moved to SoCal, I’ve had to tone down my natural snark, lest people trust my poker face and miss the joking twinkle in my eye. Biting wit is my religion but not everyone prays to the altar of such greats as George Carlin. And when communicating over text, there’s even less indication of a deadpan joke, threatening to turn a playful comment into an insult and me into a bitch.
So when things like the smiley or winky face came along, I rejoiced that I could put some disclaimers with my jokes without having to dumb them down or explain myself. I had always lamented there was no sarcasm font for my texts or emails, but this was even better. If only I could hold up an emoji on my phone while making a snide comment during a conversation to indicate I was kidding. I could let my “New England banter” flag fly and let down my guard more often.
Really, though, just like with anything in life, it all comes down to finding your people. There are so many transplants here in SoCal that come from all over the country and all over the world, and I’ve accumulated several friends that appreciate my sense of humor and share in the jesting gestures. It’s a relief to know there are places I can go and people I can hang with and not have to watch my words. I think my creative persona shrivels every time I have to say, “I was just kidding.”
It has been interesting to write during a time like this, when the social conversation is broken up into Facebook posts and tweets. My concern has always been we’re tearing down the art of communication and distorting context to fit our narratives. But I suppose that’s always existed in the zeitgeist, it’s just becoming the more accepted form of argument. On the other hand, as someone who’s written both a novel and the back jacket copy for said novel, you can’t discount the skill of brevity. The 40 chapters were nothing (well, OK, six years of nothing, but they flowed outta me). Those 200 words for the summary? KILLER.
And it’s so much easier for language to change and evolve through all the media we consume these days. All the slang terms and acronyms and funky turns of phrase can be a lot of fun, and open so many doors for different kinds of artful expression. I mean, I come from a generation that accepted “fo shizzle” into the general lexicon, so I’m really not one to talk. 😄
So I gladly raised a glass of rosé on World Emoji Day yesterday (hey, any excuse for wine o’clock). Because as much as it pains me to say it, emojis offer a unique and engaging way of communicating that allows me to be me and not be punched in the face. And I’ll take that combo any day. 😊