Txting Laughter

So we are all attached to our phones nowadays.  As I was texting one of my guy friends and one of my girl friends, I began to notice a distinct difference in their texts, especially ones that were sarcastic.  The guy just said whatever was on his mind and left it at that.  Texts such as “That’s a dumb idea” were standard, and I did not take any offense to these remarks as I knew he was kidding.  On the other hand, when the girl would text me some sarcastic remark such as “I am always right,” it would always be followed by an “lol” or “haha.”  At times if she left it without a clarifying word, another text would quickly follow that would say “just kidding ;)” or “love ya.”

The common belief is that girls are just acting “girly” and the guys are being “tough.”  But what exactly is the function of a girl’s “laugh out loud” addition to the end of every sarcastic comment?  It may have something to do with the “girly,” definition, but not quite.  Instead, girls add a lol or a haha because they know how easily their feelings are hurt, so they do their best to avoid hurting another’s.  This goes against the previous idea that girls cannot be direct or that girls say things in roundabout manners, unlike guys who get right to the point and do not waste their time with extra nonsense words.  But to girls, these extra laughter remarks are not nonsense.  They are a sign of an individual who is acutely aware of another’s feelings.  Even if the only reason a girl adds that is to prevent her friend from getting mad at herself, she is still acting in a positive manner, attempting to prevent an argument from occurring.  When guys forgo a clarifying laughter symbol, it is not because they think the person on the receiving end is tough, but because they just do not think through all the ramifications their statement could have.

Girls are sometimes criticized for over-analyzing situations.  But many times, this is a much better attribute to have then being thick-skulled and never considering the implications of one’s actions.