Being Chuck

I don’t want to sound like a total nerd/old man/word snob (even though I’m probably going to anyway), but can we not get away from the ridiculous im/texting abbreviations please?

I completely understand their usefulness and convenience, but I believe for most of us that time (the period of life in which these abbreviations are a normal part of textual conversation) has passed. With the advent of QWERTY phones, the “necessity” of such abbreviations has pretty much run its course. You don’t need to type “BTW” anymore. You now possess the ability to actually type out “by the way” without clicking 22999074433092999 (or something of the sort).

And if you type “BTW” or “LOL” on a computer, well, it’s just plain ridiculous.

How did we become so lazy that we would rather type “LOL” or “ROFL” than “ha ha?” It’s one or two extra characters/keystrokes…

“But Chuck, I need to let people know when I’m just kidding with them, and that’s so hard when I’m typing…”

Listen, I know that email and messaging are severely limited when it comes to expressing emotion and tone, but can’t we be more creative than “LOL/ROFL/OMG?”

Maybe I’m a word snob, but are we not capable of finding actual words to help express our tone? Isn’t there any way we can distinguish between things that are slightly humorous and things that are actually hilarious?

…

Maybe not.

Perhaps, I’m doomed to reading emails that include “LOL” and “BTW” from co-workers (who BTW are fifteen years my senior) for the rest of my natural life, but I certainly hope not.

[Please note the blatant contradictory use of an abbreviation as situational irony.]

Seriously, emails with abbreviations, it happens. A lot. At work. From real live adults. It did again today.

And while I’m on “LOL”

Are you really? [read with sarcastic grin] Did my overwhelming hilariousness actually cause you to laugh out loud? Or better yet, did you really end up rolling on the floor laughing?

I highly doubt it… for two reasons:

1. I’m not that funny.
2. You’re probably not really that expressive. (But the sad state of our inability to express real emotion as a culture will have to be saved for another day.)

If I’m being totally transparent, I use abbreviations here and there. “FYI” is one I use all the time. So perhaps I’m as guilty as anyone. However, I definitely see a difference between “FYI” and “LOL,” but then again, I would…

…

Is it possible that someday people will use words again? Could it be that one morning I will awake to the sun shining and emails with words that are spelled out, correctly? Or am I dreaming the impossible dream?

If you really want to ROFL [yummy irony], go back and reread this while imagining you can hear Andy Rooney (of 60 Minutes fame) reading it to you. When I reread it out loud, I felt like he was standing over my shoulder nodding/whining his approval.