Lol

Overtime, LOL has been used mostly on the internet to add emphasis on something someone said that was funny. LOL is an abbreviation of the phrase laugh out loud or laughing out loud. According to etymoline.com, lol first came into use in 1993 on the internet. Over the years, social media platforms have influenced the use of lol. Most don’t remember LOL being used at all in the 90’s, but instead more in the 2000s. Despite LOL being present in the past it did not become a heavily used until the influence of social media networks. The meaning of LOL is changing drastically however. When it is being used now it is not being used because something is funny, but instead as a pragmatic particle. According to McWhorter (2013) LOL is not being used
She used LOL in this conversation because she was annoyed. She did not feel that falling was funny at all but she used LOL to represent her annoyance and sarcasm.
I believe this is a perfect example of how the meaning and usage of LOL is changing. It is used for many reasons not just because something is funny. In fact, my sister mentioned that she never uses LOL when she thinks something is funny, “that’s what we have emoji’s for” she said. On the other hand, when I use LOL I believe they are for different reasons. I often use it when a situation is funny, but I also use it in a pragmatic sense. For me it depends on how well I know the person and the topic of a conversation. Sometimes I may type LOL but I would have a completely blank face. Not because I did not think it was, but because I just felt the need to use
Friend: Yeah Me: Y’all hiring lol I’m being serious Example 1 was a conversation between a friend and me. I think I used lol because the text came unexpected. I don’t think I used lol because it was funny that I was being missed, but I used it because it was awkward. I had just seen her a little over a week from when she sent the message and we talked all the time. I’m sure my friend didn’t think anything rude by it because she knows me personally and she knows my personality. I believed I used lol in a pragmatic particle sense by managing the conversation.

In example 2 I actually don’t think this conversation was funny at all. I was serious about finding a job and I was serious when I asked her. My friend knows I’m always talking about finding a job. I think I used lol to make the conversation less weird because it could come off awkward coming from me to ask her that question. I also think I used lol here to start a conversation. I texted her with a question and she responded dry so I thought lol could spice the conversation