Everyone’s got a different laugh, out loud. But how do you laugh online? If a friend posts something funny on Facebook, do you give it a “ha ha,” or do you “LOL” in all caps?
According to Facebook, there are the four major types of e-laughing that appear on the social media site. The standard “ha ha,” the simple “LOL,” the conciliatory “hehe” and smiley-face emojis that speak for themselves. This includes variations on those, like when someone laughs themselves silly with a whole string of “ha’s.”
Facebook looked at posts and comments made on the site during a week in May that contained some type of e-laughter. And for those of you who like to laugh out loud, I’ve got some bad news. "LOL" isn’t trendy anymore, at least not online. Just less than 2 percent of posts and comments used the once-beloved abbreviation to show amusement.
But if you’re an LOL-er don’t despair, those three letters still have a place in Phoenix. In a comparison of six major cities, Facebook found Phoenicians love to laugh out loud the most, no joke. Whether they actually do it in real life is a question for another day.
There are some constraints to the data. Facebook decided to limit the variations it analyzed after running into a “ha ha” that was over 600 letters long.
Wow, talk about getting the last laugh.
If you want to send us an e-laugh or maybe just that emoji that’s laughing and crying at the same time, you can find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @kjzzphoenix. And you can find a link to the study here.
