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Smileys are used frequently to add emotion to the text we write today. Making a colon with a capital D : D makes a big smile to emphasis how we feel about the subject we are expressing. Semicolons are used for a wink ; and left parentheses for a frown ( or right parentheses for a smile ).

The difference between emoticons and smileys is that emoticons are not made of text symbols but are instead little pictures that express emotions. You can find them at smiley Central.

Thanks to the use of text messaging on cell phones, instant messaging (IM) and message boards the use of smileys and emoticons for informal written communications has soared.

It is rare to find a youth that is not well versed in the meaning and use of smileys and emoticons on the internet and in messaging today. The youth were the first to use them and spread their popularity.

The expressions have evolved quiet a bit since the early development of these symbols. At first they only expressed happiness or sadness, but now they can express nuanced emotions like disbelief, anger, playfulness and surprise.

The use of these expressions seems to disproportionately favored by females rather than males. The cause for this may be that females feel more comfortably expressing emotions, or perhaps they are more familiar with nuanced telecommunication techniques,

Those who criticize the use of emoticons as being detrimental to the depth of human communication do not address the benefits of using them for quicker messages with more intimate text messages.

Use of emoticons has hit a plateau as all the smiley text combinations have been discovered. The future or more nuanced symbols lies in message forums that have longer text messages with new symbols required to display the range of emotions expressed.