LOL: The Most Annoying Acronym on the Internet

Google “What is the most annoying acronym on the internet” and there you have it. In case you’ve been living under a rock, LOL stands for Laughing out Loud (not to be mistaken for the game, League of Legends). LOL, and behold: unmask 5,470,000 results on this controversial debate. In 2011, the word LOL was added into the Oxford English Dictionary. This opened a whole new dimension on the usage and importance of abbreviations in our context.

Today marks my debut post on this blog. I have no writing experience AT ALL. I was never a high scorer in English language, so let’s keep this light hearted, grammar Nazis. In my list, I am going to come up with 6 reasons on why the acronym ‘LOL’ is so useful to use, yet so annoying to be used on. These can be viewed as ‘LOL’s alter egos.

let’s go!!!

Reason #1. Mr. Passive Aggressive: To Spite Others

Ever since I was a young lady, I never expressed my anger in vulgarities. As a result, I often turn to a passive-aggressive approach- which is through the usage of acronyms. Coupled with the use of “zz”, ‘LOL’ can take on a whole new meaning; turning an innocent laugh to a hostile text.

such is an example of the usage of ‘LOL zzz’. As you can see, this man doesn’t seem very pleased.

Despite being a frequent abuser of “LOL ZZZ”, I am also a sad victim of “LOL ZZZ” as well. As the saying goes, Birds of the same feather flock together. Thus when I use it so frequently, my friends would pick up the lingo and start using the same terms as well. As such, it becomes annoying when someone uses your passive aggressive approach on yourself. MAKE IT STAHP. Oh well, that’s probably why they say, “Don’t do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto yourself”.

Painful lesson, huh?

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Reason #2. The Nonchalant approach to replying messages.

In this digital age, people are so used to quick replies- albeit halfhearted. This is a mistake of mere lack of enthusiasm/ interest. Ever find yourself replying a quick text when you’re out with your friends? We abuse the word ‘LOL’. Even when the conversation doesn’t seem funny, we find ourselves replying “LOLOLOLOLOL” as to cover up for our half-heartedness in replying messages. I’m guilty of this too, but the least we could do is to revert back with a sincere reply afterwards.

ENOUGH!!!!

This is a sample message of 2 friend’s conversation.  Just look at the time stamps and dates, and you’ll realize how half-hearted and superficial this conversation actually is. Even though there isn’t any LOL present in the conversation, this image is to further illustrate my point on how half-hearted this conversation actually is.

#sotrue #preachit

Then again, the word ‘LOL’ has been misused so much to the extent we have to actually validate the fact that the joke was legitimately funny: (Such irony, isn’t it!!!)

Lesson learnt: Be wholehearted!

“Wherever you are, be all there – Jim Elliot”

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Reason #3. The Misunderstood LOL

Then again, this is simply the product of our excessive usage of the poor acronym. Give it a break. Playing mind games ah?

To summarize, these are the ways in which you can utilize your ‘LOL’ to the fullest extent in expressing yourself:

1. Anger: LOL zzz
2. “Wow this is so lame”: LOLz
3. Really Pissed off: LOL zzzZZzzzZZzzz
4. Extremely Pissed off: L0L ZzzZzZZzZZZ. (the full stop always leaves an impact in guilt tripping your kind friend)

*Take note that the difference between (c) and (d) is the period.

5. “ xx has left the chat group” : lol k Byez

lai la fite mi

Look guys, there’s no need for vulgarities! Let’s make it a clean cyberspace yay!!!                \[..^w^..]/ yay!

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Reason #4. Little Miss Sarcastic: l o l

l o l  actually looks like someone drowning in water. Oh wait, it’s meant to be \ o/ LOLOLOLOLOL!

As I was looking for inspiration to write the 4^th reason, I was chatting away with this friend, in which she replied with sarcasm: l o l. This means that it is actually not funny at all. Sarcasm is commonly known as the usage of irony as an object of mockery or satire, usually taunting and sneering.

You very smart, l o l. buey tahan you lol kbye

WOAH DEEP:

“None of them is laughing out loud. They aren’t even smiling. They might be typing haha or LOL, but they are not living the text, not texting the truth.”

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Reason #5. Convenience at our fingertips

Literally, that’s what I mean. Since abbreviations are created to make our message short and sweet, yet bringing the message across, it has definitely made our life so much easier. Why waste finger energy and strength typing “HAHAHAHAHAHA” when you can just spend the energy on 3 taps of ‘LOL’ on your screen?

Save that energy for something else, like picking and putting snacks into your mouth. Save that energy for something useful like… picking your no…00Oose (Woah wait what?)

Jokes aside, the word ‘LOL’ has definitely made self-expression (e-laughter specifically) so much easier. Gone were the days where we used to type HAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA to emphasize how funny the joke is, and now you just gotta lengthen the O in LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Why spend so much energy alternating between the two alphabet H and alphabet A when you can just press and hold on Alphabet O? 😮

Congratulations, fellow-netizen-blog-reader-viewer-convenience-seeker-#lifehacks Comrade, upon your newfound revelation. I’m glad I played a pretty big part in discovery such important truths in your life.

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Reason #6. Differentiation on social engagement

Ever wondered of what’s the difference between ‘haha’ and ‘LOL’? Technically, both e-laughter are the same and convey the same message. However, technology is advancing so rapidly, look at how fast our texting style evolved over time.

|| Perhaps there’s a distinct difference in perception of which e-laughter to use, depending on situation ||

FEMALES:

HAHA	Not so funny, yet I’ll reply so as to not leave you hanging
HAHAHA	Grinning ear to ear
HAHAHAHA	Omg that’s actually pretty funny lmao
LOL	That’s pretty funny
LOLOL	I laughed irl
LOLOLOL	oh my god that is super hilarious

MALES:

HAHA	Lol u funny twat
HAHAHA	Lol u funny twat
HAHAHAHA	Lol u funny twat
LOL	Lol u funny twat
LOLOL	Lol u funny twat
LOLOLOL	Lol u funny twat

Is this it?

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In conclusion,

There’s always two sides to a coin. No matter how much the annoying abbreviation has brought us convenience, the abuse and misuse of it has also caused much conflict in the social fabric of our society by stirring shit and tension. (lolololololololol much chim classic example as stated)

Friend A: lets meet at 5pm @ dhoby ghaut

Friend B: lol ok

Friend A: y so angry ask u out only show attitude fite mi

Friend B: …

Next time, use “lol zz” instead of vulgarities lololololol lmao lelele lulululzxc

Hope you enjoyed my first ever post. DO LEAVE ME CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK & HATERS BACK OFF ok!

Not expecting much bcos im just doing this for fun & to cultivate a habit of writing more but if you do have any topics you want me to write about you could leave a comment down below!

Cheers 🙂