We’ve all done it before. We’re texting someone and writing a message that sounds passive aggressive, so in order to negate this and stop the receiver of the message from being insulted, we throw on a “haha” or “lol” at the end of the message. It seems innocent enough; after all, you’re only making a joke out of what you’re saying. Recently, I was texting a friend of mine and sent a message that could be interpreted as me being aggressive, so I did just this and threw on a “haha” at the end of the message. Right after sending the message, I thought about this, and was struck with the effect that fillers like “haha” and “lol” have on the messages we send.
If I had sent my message without “haha” at the end, it easily could have been perceived as aggressive. Simply by adding “haha” to the end of the text, I had covered my ass from the message being interpreted in the wrong way. “It’s the ultimate protection. I can say whatever I want as long as I put ‘haha’ at the end,” I realized suddenly. This is because by putting this filler phrase in my text, the text immediately loses all potency and any actual meaning. No matter how aggressive or offensive the text, by adding “haha” or “lol” at the end, the message has no seriousness. If someone does perceive it as aggressive or offensive, then the “haha” or “lol” acts as an immediate get out of jail free card. My brain followed and expanded this idea until I drew a further conclusion that wasn’t so jovial. Is the general potency of our statements lessening because of the frequency with which we use them?
In truth, I don’t have an answer for that question. However, I now find myself using these protective phrases less often than I have in the past. They’re certainly still part of my vocabulary, but every time I use one, I question how it’s going to affect what I’m saying and the potency with which I want to say it. In a world where people are constantly trying not to offend anyone with their true opinions, phrases like “haha” and “lol” offer the ability for us to say how we feel while covering our asses. I’ve felt for all of my life that if someone wants to say something and make it impactful, there’s no room for beating around the bush. These filler phrases are the ultimate tools for beating around the bush. Are they helpful for expressing if something is funny in the emotionless world of text messages? Absolutely. But should they be used when trying to get a point across? Definitely not. It’s time for people to put some force back into what they say and not be afraid of offending people. Stand by how you feel and don’t cover your butt with phrases like “haha” and “lol,” and next time you have to express your opinions or how you feel, do so without having a get out of jail free card, otherwise before we know it, we’ll be stuck in a world of messages fraught with ambiguity and lacking all “umph” behind the message we want to get across.
