I can't speak for everyone, but when I say lol I usually am trying to soften a self disparaging statement or expressing the absurdity of the situation... Or just lighten the tone because I feel like my message is too serious and I'm coming off like an asshole
It isn't a hard and fast rule, just an observation. For some, it is just an interjection, and that's undeniable.
One weird thing for me is that I came online in the brief era between when simple smiles, the old colon parenthesis, were a thing but lol wasn't yet. Habits already defined, I guess.
I can't speak for everyone, but when I say lol I usually am trying to soften a self disparaging statement or expressing the absurdity of the situation... Or just lighten the tone because I feel like my message is too serious and I'm coming off like an asshole
It isn't a hard and fast rule, just an observation. For some, it is just an interjection, and that's undeniable.
One weird thing for me is that I came online in the brief era between when simple smiles, the old colon parenthesis, were a thing but lol wasn't yet. Habits already defined, I guess.