Since when did punctuation marks become faces? With the advent of text messaging came instances of misunderstanding because of the lack of facial expression that a tete-a-tete allows. Savvy texters came up with icons using common keys to help convey the feeling of their messages to attempt to alleviate mix-ups. For someone new to texting, though, it just looks like a grammar book lost all its contents in a pile. Here are the most common emoticons so you can hold your head up straight instead of resting your ear on your shoulder.
Note: Colons ( : ) and equal signs ( = ) can be used interchangeably for the “eyes” of your emoticon; noses created by a hyphen ( – ) are optional.
=) – smile/happy
=( – frown/sad
; ) – wink
=D – big smile/grin/laughing
=P – sticking out tongue/blowing raspberry
=* – kiss
=/ – confused
=| – indifferent or bored
=S – embarrassed
=O – shocked
>=( – angry
=’( – crying
=_( – crying
=X – sick or keeping a secret
8 ) – wearing glasses or wide-eyed
=@ – screaming
=& – tongue-tied
=? – confused or tongue-in-cheek
#| – tired or drunk
%) – silly
<3 – heart/love
@>— – rose/flower
{{{username}}} – hug (replace “username” with the recipient’s name; curly brackets, square brackets, or parentheses can be used)
The Texting Parents Series will continue when part three discusses Texting Parentese.
