I’ve decided calling the Networked Media ‘lecture’ a symposium could take a twist this week. Introducing the lengthy intellectual boxing match between the course tutors! It seems like they’re always disagreeing, which at least provides me with some entertainment after a long day at Uni. Actually, today Betty clapped at what Adrian said – hooray! They are finally getting along.

One of the points in today’s intellectual boxing match that they didn’t completely disagree on was how different generations text differently, and how they utilise language in their messages with alternative intentions and meanings.

I’m sure everyone’s heard the joke “Grandma’s in hospital, LOL”. In this case LOL was misinterpreted to mean lots of love, probably by an adult who was unfamiliar with youth culture that revolves around technology, abbreviations and emoticons. Obviously it originally meant Laugh Out Loud.  But LOL doesn’t have the meaning of laugh out loud anymore. It has merely become a social protocol, a space filler, an indication of tone. Typically it now suggests friendliness. It has become so customary in messages, that leaving it out can even convey a sour, negative tone, despite the intention. This is interchangeable with something like haha.  These sayings convey mood rather than the original specific meaning with which they were created.

This is why something like the Magic Bullet theory will never work. This is because a condition of language is that interpretation can not be fully predicted. Meanwhile, consistency of meaning can not be guaranteed based on a number of audience factors (cultural, literacy, media exposure, etc). Therefore the intended message can’t be ensured based on the reaction of the receptor.

LOL BRB TTYL xoxo