Emoticons and Email Etiquettes

The Internet is now playing a very important role in most people’s daily lives. According to a review done by the UCLA Centre for Communication Policy (2001), there are about 88% of the total Internet users who uses email. This is also proven by the Pew Internet Project who had done a study and proving that 60% of Internet users use email everyday (Kincaid, 2008). However, the negativity is that users do not know how to write a proper email and simply adding emoticons which leads to confusion or misinterpretation or even to the extent of hurting other’s feelings (Greenstone, n.d.).

Email usage is at 60%

Taken from the Media Report, a transcript on the topic ‘Emoticons and email etiquettes’, the presenter mentioned, besides not knowing the proper way to write an email, many people do not have the ability to interpret a message correctly. According to Funnell (2007), a simple phrase can be interpreted differently and will sound differently. As an example:

Dear Stephen, I've read the report you sent. Great stuff. You're a classic. It's pretty obvious how much effort you put in..

Based on the above phrase, it can be interpreted into two; sarcasm or enthusiasm. Due to the existence of such confusion, Scott Fahlman invented the ‘emotional icon’ (emoticon) which can be formed using punctuation marks such as hyphen, colon or brackets. By adding emoticons, it will be easier for the receiver as he/she will be able to interpret the actual meaning of the message in a shorter time. Some of the examples of emoticons are:

Examples of emoticons

However, sending email which contains lots of emoticons is not recommended as it may look unprofessional. Therefore, it is important to follow email etiquette when composing an email in order to look professional. As mentioned by Barbara Greenstone, an email with emoticon may sound silly and inappropriate. Abbreviation, which is common in the English language, can be used - ‘FYI’ (for your information), ‘BTW’ (by the way). However, usage of complicated abbreviations such as ‘IMHO’ (in my humble opinion) or ‘TNSTAAFL’ (there’s no such thing as free lunch) should be avoided to shun misunderstandings and misinterpretation of the message conveyed.

In conclusion, emoticons had actually helped people to have better understanding of a message. It also made communication simpler as the emoticons can be used to represent the current emotion of the sender. This will definitely reduce miscommunications which will lead to bad effects. Email should be composed professionally by using proper and formal English without including short forms or abbreviations.

References:
Funnell, A 2008, ‘Emoticons and email ettiquette’, The Media Report, viewed 12th June 2009, <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2064342.htm>.

Greenstone, B n.d., ‘E-Mail Etiquette’, mainelearns.org , viewed 12th June 2009, <http://www.mainelearns.org/ovc/story_files/email_etiquette.pdf>.

Kincaid, J 2008, ‘Search Challenges Email As Most Popular Daily Online Activity’, viewed 12th June 2009, <http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/06/search-challenges-email-as-most-popular-daily-online-activity/>.

McKay, DR n.d., ‘Email Etiquette’, Career Planning, viewed 12th June 2009, <http://careerplanning.about.com/od/communication/a/email_etiquette.htm>.